


Into the Rush

by JeanieLee



Series: Evelyn Tracy [2]
Category: The Mummy (1999), The Mummy Returns (2001), The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008), Thunderbirds
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Twins, Drama, F/M, Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-10-11
Updated: 2009-07-10
Packaged: 2018-09-18 17:54:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 36
Words: 78,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9396497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JeanieLee/pseuds/JeanieLee
Summary: Two months after graduating from the University of Massachusetts, twenty two year old Evelyn Tracy is offered the chance of a lifetime; to work and study at an actually archeological dig in Egypt. But when Evelyn is tricked into reading an excerpt from the Book of the Dead, the Tracy family will have to work together to find a way to save the world once more. Starts two months after epilogue of Never Far Behind.





	1. Prologue- Mornie Utúlië

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prologue- Mornie Utúlië  
> May it be the shadows call  
> Will fly away  
> May it be you journey on  
> To light the day  
> When the night is overcome  
> You may rise to find the sun
> 
> Mornie Utúlië (darkness has come)  
> Believe and you will find your way  
> Mornie Alantië (darkness has fallen)  
> A promise lives within you now  
> May It Be by Enya  
> 

**June 17** **th** **, 2024**

Captivity had never boded well for Saadia, and for the young women to find herself in captivity made her hate the rest of mankind even more than she already had. She was flanked on each side by a guard; both of them had their hands on her dark, tanned arms as to make sure she wouldn't be able to make a run for it as she had at the last two prisons she had been in. This was why she was now being escorted to her newest cell in a high-security prison in the United Kingdom.

She had grown up in an orphanage in Cairo until she turned sixteen when she killed the caretaker and ran out into the desert. Even at such a young age she never felt any guilt over the murders she committed in order to survive. The population of the world could rot in the fiery depths of hell for all she cared. They had shunned her when she was young; all prospective parents had found her odd. And that she was.

For Saadia was no ordinary Egyptian. No, she had memories at a young age of things no one had ever seen, ever done, especially for someone her age. Memories of people and events that had happened roughly three thousand years before she had been born. And in these memories, she had lived, loved, and had even killed for that love. A love that never loved her in return. In these memories, she discovered the name Meritaten and that she was the women reincarnated.

The dim lights of the high-security prison reflected off of Saadia's sleek black hair as the group entered the ward for special cases, the thick steel door closing behind them with a hiss. In the first cell, the group passed was a tall black man trying to bend the bars of the door with brute strength. The guard outside the cell raised his taser gun for the man to see. He backed away from the door with a growl.

Saadia then looked into the second cell they passed. Inside sat a woman with bright red hair, her back to the door. She turned around as the group passed and Saadia curled her nose at the women. She had thick glasses in front of her eyes, yellow teeth and an extremely large overbite. Looking away from the cell, Saadia looked to the man sitting cross-legged in the third. He wore robes of red satin, though parts were stained and worn. His bald head shined under the lights as his eyes opened and looked to the new arrival.

"Ah, I see our new friend has arrived," he stated in his smooth baritone as one of the guards opened the cell beside his and pushed Saadia inside. She glared at the guards as they closed the cell door before looking towards the man sitting in the cell beside hers.

"I am no friend of yours," she hissed in reply, her glare transferring from the guards to this man as her dark brown eyes flashed in anger.

"But we could be allies," he stated, the corners of his mouth tugging up into a smile at her reaction. "Tell me, what exactly are you here for?"

"Attempting to murder the Prime Minister," she replied, her glare fading as she sat down on the cot in the cell.

"Yes, I read about that in the papers last month," he began softly. "You would make a very useful ally to me."

"What exactly do you need an ally for?" she asked, glancing at the back of the guard that stood outside her cell before looking back at the man in red in the cell beside her. He raised a hand and beckoned her closer as he stood from the floor. Saadia slowly stood from the bed and walked over to the wall that separated their cells as the man went to his bed and picked up what appeared to be a newspaper that had been sitting on it.

He then opened it to one of the inner pages before handing it through the bars. As she took the paper from him, he pointed to a picture of a smiling young woman with dark copper hair and green eyes wearing a dark blue graduation cap and gown as she walked off the stage after receiving her diploma. The heading above the picture read, 'Jeff Tracy's Daughter Graduates History Major.'

"That family is the reason I have been here for the last four years. It is on them that I wish to get my revenge," he commented as Saadia stared down at the picture. Saadia barely registered his comment as she stared down at the picture. The woman in the picture was almost the exact replica of her past life's enemy, Henuttawy. Though in Saadia's memories her hair had been black, not dark red and she had had dark brown eyes, but she was sure that this Evelyn Tracy was the reincarnation of her.

"I'm interested," Saadia stated as she looked up from the paper and handed it back through the bars to the man.

"Why exactly do you want revenge on the Tracy family?" the man asked as he turned and set the paper back down on his bed before turning back towards Saadia.

Saadia shook her head, a fight smile appearing on her lips at the idea that was forming in her mind. "Not the family. Just the girl. And I think I know how to do it."

A smile formed on the man's face and he nodded to Saadia. "Hurt the daughter, you hurt them all. Please, explain your idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone and welcome to the sequel to Never Far Behind. As you can see, inspiration obviously won out and this is being started ahead of time. Plot bunnies wouldn't leave me alone. XD As I said at the beginning of the last story, I've been a fan of Thunderbirds since the movie came out back in 2004 and only recently found the fan fiction section here. As I have never seen the show, this fic is movie based with a few TV elements I have learned from various fan fiction around this site. –points to the stories by LittleMissBump- This story will also be a very slight crossover with the Mummy movies, using mostly just the history that they provide along with a few of the situations, i.e. raising a mummy. Though there were little hints of it in the last story, if you can catch them I'll give you a cookie. XD


	2. Invitation

**Chapter One-Invitation**

**August 12** **th** **, 2024**

"It's official Evie," Gordon commented as he sat down on her bed, Nefertiti lying down beside him. Evelyn turned away from her desk, where she had been checking her e-mails to look at her twin. "Your cat is a sweetheart."

Evelyn laughed and shook her head as he continued to rub a purring Nefertiti behind the ears, the cat's eyes closed in content. Shortly after graduation, she had bid her friends in Boston goodbye and moved back to the island. All the contents of her apartment were now in her room, along with the stray that had literally come to her shortly after she had moved to the city five years prior. A knock came from the doorway and the twins looked over to see Scott poking his head into the room. "Hey, Scott. What's up?"

"Alan, Virgil, and I are gonna go watch a movie. Wanna join us?" Scott asked as he leaned against the doorway as he looked at his younger brother and sister. Gordon nodded and pushed himself off the bed, Nefertiti meowed after him as if asking 'what about me?'

"Sure," Evelyn replied with a shrug as Gordon walked over and stood beside Scott in the doorway to her room. "I'll be down there in a minute. Just let me shut down my computer real quick."

"Just don't take too long Evie," Gordon commented before walking out of the room a few seconds behind his eldest brother. Evelyn laughed and turned back to her computer. Just as she was about to close the window showing her inbox, a new message appeared on the screen from a domain she recognized but a person she did not.

With a frown, Evelyn clicked on the message to open it. A new window opened to show the message and Evelyn began to read it. As she read through the e-mail, the frown disappeared as her eyes green widened and her mouth dropped open in shock. By the end of the e-mail, her breathing had become labored as a large grin threatened to break out of her face. Standing up from her chair, she let out a scream and began to jump up and down in excitement. On her bed, Nefertiti yawned and curled back up to go to sleep.

So busy screaming and dancing around the room, Evelyn missed the concerned yell from her father down the hall and the thundering feet of her brothers coming up the stairs. Her father and brothers ran into the doorway of her room and their concern for her quickly turned to confusion as they spotted her dancing around the room. Evelyn stopped dancing and looked at the five people standing in the doorway to her room in confusion. "What?"

"What's with the screaming and the happy dance?" Alan asked. The grin quickly returned to her face and she motioned for them to all go to her computer where the message was still being displayed on the screen. Jeff stood closest to the screen and read the message aloud. 

"'Dear Ms. Tracy, first off let me introduce myself to you. I am Dr. Adrian Ness, successor to George Carnarvon with whom you were studying with up until his death the past April. It is my extreme pleasure to invite you to the dig he had begun to finance four years ago…..'"

Five heads turned away from the computer as Jeff's voice trailed off to see Evelyn standing by the doorway smiling brightly as she bounced up and down on the balls of her feet. "Now you know why I was screaming and doing a 'happy dance' as Alan calls it."

Jeff was the first to reach Evelyn and he pulled her into a tight hug, chuckling as he wrapped his arms around her. Behind him, his four sons smiled at the interaction between them, something that would not have happened five years prior. Jeff held her tightly for a few moments before releasing her and holding her at arm's length as he smiled. "Now I understand why you were screaming. Just try not to do it again. I've got enough gray hairs as it is."

His five children present laughed as he moved away to the side of the room to let his sons congratulate their sister. Gordon put an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to his side as Alan stepped forward and ruffled her hair the same way she would always to it to him. She glared and he backed away laughing before she could hit him and Gordon removed the tight grip he had on her shoulder.

She scoffed and shook her head at her twin for a moment as Scott wrapped his own arm around her from the other side. As she reached up to straighten her hair, Virgil mussed her bangs in the way he always did. She mock glared at him for a moment before grinning at all her brothers. From where he stood off to the side, Jeff smiled fondly at the interactions between his children.

"Evelyn," he stated after a few moments. All five of his children present turned to look at him. "Why don't you go to my office and call John."

Evelyn's grin widened and she nodded in reply before heading towards the door to her room. She then turned around and looked towards her brothers. "You guys go ahead and start the movie. I'll be down there in a few minutes."

Those in the room smiled and nodded as she walked down to hall towards her father's office. Once they were sure she was well out of hearing distance, Gordon asked, "Did I distract her long enough?"

Jeff looked towards her second youngest son and nodded. "Yeah. Though he did want to come down here too when she screamed."

"She'll probably scream again in a second," Alan commented. From down the hall in Jeff's office, they heard Evelyn scream again. Where she lay on the bed, Nefertiti lifted her head and meowed.

Evelyn left the room and walked down the hall towards her father's office, oblivious to the conversation happening back in her room. When she walked into her father's office, she stopped dead in the doorway as her eyes landed on the blond sitting in the chair. She screamed once more as John stood up from the chair before running over and hugging him tightly as he laughed.

"What are you doing here?" she asked when she released him a few moments later.

"I was brought down for your birthday tomorrow," John replied as he smiled down at his sister. 

Comprehension dawned on Evelyn's face. "So that's why Gordon's been in my room bugging me all morning!"

"Yep, he was given the duty of distracting you," John laughed and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "And what was with the screaming a few minutes ago? You just about gave dad a heart attack."

"I'm going to Egypt!" she squealed in reply. "Dr. Carnarvon's successor sent me an invitation to the dig he was beginning to finance four years ago!"

John smiled down at her and pulled her into a tight hug as he laughed."This is an amazing opportunity for you! When do they want you there?"

"Early next month," she replied, grinning up at him as he released her though he left his one arm where it lay around her shoulders.

"Good for you Evie," he commented as he began to steer the two of them towards the door of the office. "Now let's go see what movie they picked."

"How did you-"

"The original plan was for me to walk in during the movie and surprise you then," he replied as they walked down the hallway towards the staircase to the second floor. "But the plan changed when you screamed."

"I was excited so sue me," she mumbled, making John laugh beside her as they reached the staircase and began to head down to the second floor, from which they could already hear the sounds of a movie playing loudly inside.


	3. Happy Birthday!

**Chapter Two-Happy Birthday!  
** **August 13** **th** **, 2024**

Evelyn yawned as she walked down the staircase towards the kitchen. Though it was late in the morning, she had been awoken at three in the morning when Katie had called her to tell her happy birthday. After hanging up the phone, she had gone back to sleep for a few more hours before getting out of bed and heading down to breakfast.

"Happy birthday Evie," Gordon greeted as she stepped off the stairs and headed towards the dining room table where her family all sat. The smell of pancakes and bacon filled the room as Evelyn smiled at her family as they greeted her in a similar fashion as Gordon. Gordon noticed how quiet she was and asked, "Late night?"

"No," she replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose as she sat down between him and Jeff. "Katie called me around three or so."

"I'm guessing she screamed," Jeff commented, filling up a glass of orange juice and handing to her. She took it with a grateful smile and nodded. "It's obvious why she decided to become a cheerleader."

"Katie's the hyper blond right?" Alan asked, taking a sip of his orange juice.

Scott scoffed and shook his head, "All of her friends are hyper sprout."

"They are no-" Evelyn began, but then looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding. "Okay, they are hyper. But most of them were also straight 'A' students."

"Happy birthday you two," Onaha greeted as she carried two plates of food and set them down onto the table. One had a pile of bacon on it while the other had plenty of pancakes on it, small brown specks visible in the pancakes. "Chocolate chip pancakes this morning."

"Sweet," the twins laughed in unison as they high-fived each other before grabbing their fork and putting a few pancakes onto their plates. "Thanks, Onaha!"

* * *

"Happy birthday to you!" sang the inhabitants of the island, along with the visiting Lady Penelope and Parker as they gathered around the table set out on the deck, where Onaha had set the large cake she had made for the twins birthday. On the table around the cake was covered with gifts for each of the twins.

Gordon and Evelyn stood directly in front of the cake, on top of which were twenty-two candles around the words 'Happy Birthday Gordon and Evelyn' written in white icing. Evelyn closed her eyes.

_When I go to Egypt, let me find adventure_ , she thought before opening her eyes and looking to Gordon beside her. He smiled and raised an eyebrow to ask if she was ready. She nodded and together to two took a deep breath and blew out all twenty-two candles on the cake.

The crowd gathered around the twins cheered as all the candles were extinguished. As Onaha moved between them to cut the cake, Jeff took the two of them by the shoulders and led them to two of the deck chairs a few feet away and had them sit down. As Onaha distributed the pieces of cake, the group settled down around where the twins were seated to eat as the twins opened their gifts.

Evelyn sat down her slice of cake as Jeff handed both her and Gordon a gift off the table. She heard Gordon cheer beside her when he opened his gift but did not look up to see what it was as she had just finished pulling the paper off the gift to find it was the very first edition of the novel, _The Mummy_ by Evelyn O'Connell. Of course, she had her own copy of it up in her room that was extremely worn from the number of times she had read it. She looked up from the book and towards John, who nodded in confirmation that it was him that had gotten it for her.

She glanced over at her twin to see he had already opened three of his gifts and was working on his forth as Jeff handed her the next gift. By the bright pink wrapping paper, she knew immediately who it was from. Setting the book aside and taking a quick bite from her cake, she tore off the wrapping paper to find several pairs of khaki capris along with several dark colored, loose fitting shirts.

"I actually bought that before the news of your trip to Egypt," Penelope commented from where she stood near the rear of the group, a small slice of cake in hand. Evelyn smiled at her before setting the box aside as Jeff handed her another. She glanced over at Gordon to see that he now had several books, new swim trunks, a prank kit, and a CD signed by his favorite band sitting beside him.

He glanced over at her as he began to open his next gift and smiled. Evelyn laughed as she began to open the next box, one that was much smaller than the last two had been. She tore off the paper and opened the small box that laid within and let out a gasp. Inside sat a pair of earrings with soft goose feathers dangling and identical to those seen on Amy in the movie _Fly Away Home_. She looked around those near her. "Who?"

Scott, whose mouth was currently full of cake, raised the fork in his hand to tell her that he had gotten them. Evelyn smiled towards her eldest brother before pulling the first of the two earrings out of the box and removing the back to it before inserting it into her pierced ear. She then repeated the process with the second earring before setting the small box aside as her father handed her yet another small box. She opened it to reveal a crystal necklace similar to Tin-Tins. Evelyn looked towards the Malayan girl and smiled. "Since you were always saying that you liked mine we thought you would like one of your own."

"Thanks, Tin-Tin, Kyrano, Onaha," Evelyn replied as she smiled over at the family. She then took another bite of her cake before accepting another box from her father. She opened the long, rectangular box and let out a gasp at the painting inside. Virgil had painted yet another stunning portrait of Egypt. Though this one showed the Temple of Horus along with Abu Simbel. Scattered across the orange sunset in the background were faded hieroglyphs. Evelyn looked towards Virgil, her mouth still open from the stunning beauty of the painting. "Virge, it's incredible!"

"Well show it to us, Evie!" Alan called from where he sat. Evelyn laughed and lifted up the painting so everyone around her could see it.

She heard a few gasps and Gordon yell, "Dang Virgil!"

She peeked around the painting to look at her older brother and smiled as Virgil looked down at his cake, his cheeks tinged pink.

"This one is going right above my bed," she stated as she gently set the painting down beside her, facing up. She then accepted the final box on the table from her father, one that was quite large and rather heavy. She opened it to find a dark blue flight suit and helmet, similar in style to the silver one she wore while flying back in Boston.

"The idea was originally Alan's. So while he bought the flight suit, I bought the craft," Jeff explained from where he stood beside her when she had looked up from the box in confusion. "Then Brains and Fermat customized it once it got here."

Evelyn's jaw dropped as she understood what they were talking about. "No way! You got me one!"

Jeff nodded as he smiled at Evelyn. She stood up from the chair and wrapped her arms around her father as she squealed, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

"But," Jeff began once she released the tight hold she had on him and had sat back down on the chair. "You can't go up until tomorrow. Okay?"

"I think I can live with that," she replied, biting her lip to keep from screaming in excitement. First, she finds out she's going to Egypt, then John surprises her by coming down, and then they buy her an ultra light of her own.

_This is defiantly in the category of best birthday ever_ , she thought as she looked over at Gordon beside her. Her smile grew when she saw him smiling at her.

* * *

Evelyn smiled as she stepped back to admire her handy work. The painting that Virgil had given her earlier that evening now hung on the wall above her bed. The party had ended about half an hour earlier. Not long after Lady Penelope and Parker had left the island and all the islands inhabitants had gone to get ready for bed.

A knock sounded on the door of her bedroom. Evelyn turned her head toward it and called, "Come in!"

A few seconds later the knob turned and Gordon pushed the door open and entered his twin's room. He closed the door behind him before walking over to stand beside her as she looked at the painting. "I think that's his best work yet."

"I like the one he did of Scott and Alan better," she replied. The painting in question had been painted four years prior, two weeks after the Hood had tried to kill them. They had found the oldest and youngest brothers asleep in Alan's bed, where Virgil promptly took a picture and painted it the next day. The painting now hung in their father's room while the picture had been duplicated and now copies of it sat in both Scott and Alan's room.

"True," Gordon agreed, looking at the painting for another minute before pulling a small box out of his pocket and handing it to Evelyn. "Happy birthday Evie."

Evelyn smiled and took the box from him before going to her desk and picking up the folded piece of paper that sat on it and handing it to Gordon."Happy Birthday, Gordy."

As he read the note, Evelyn opened up the small box and gaped at what sat inside. On the end of a long, silver chain hung two small pendants. One was a goose and the other a dolphin. She lifted the necklace out of the box and smiled at it before putting it over her head. Once around her neck, the two pendants settled high on her chest.

Smiling one last time at the necklace around her neck, Evelyn looked up to see Gordon smiling at her as he held the note in his hand. "I love your gift, Evie."

"But I didn't buy you anything," she replied, fingering the pendants around her neck.

"No," he began, pulling her into a hug. "But you did agree to pull pranks with me for a month."

Evelyn laughed as she pulled away to smile at him. "I'm glad you liked it. And I love yours. I'll wear it all the time when I go to Egypt."

"Then when you get home-" he began.

"I'll help you pull whatever pranks you want," she finished. She then hugged him tightly once more. "Love ya, Gordy."

Gordon returned the hug just as tightly and whispered, "Love you, Evie."


	4. Nightmares

**Chapter Three-Nightmares**

_She sighed as she walked through the halls of the Royal Palace in_ _Amarna. The great corridor of golden colored marble and stone was lit by torches hung on the wall, giving the entire place a warm feel. The hall she was in was quiet, though the sounds of the city at night were able to be heard in the distance._

_Reaching a large set of double doors, flanked on either side by statues of Anubis she pushed them open and walked into the room beyond. The room was made of the same stone as the rest of the palace and a sheer curtain hid the room from the large balcony that overlooked the city square. She closed the doors behind her before walking over to the bed of cushions and sat down upon it. A few moments later there was a knock on the door._

" _ **Enter!"**_ _she called. One of the doors opened and a young Egyptian male stepped into the room. His skin was a few shades darker than her down and on his head, he wore and gold and black headdress. She smiled as he closed the door behind him. She stood up off the bed as he walked towards her._ _He bowed to her, as was custom when greeting a royal._ _ **"Rekhmire, you need not greet me that way."**_

" _ **I must your Highness,"**_ _he replied, looking down at her with a soft smile_ _ **. "It is a way of showing that I respect you."**_

" _ **Rekhmire,"**_ _she said softly. He placed his hand on her bare shoulder before he lowered his head to hers and their lips met in a soft kiss._

" _ **So,"**_ _began a new voice. The kiss broke and the two lovers looked towards the balcony as two figures emerged from the other side of the curtain, one male, and the other female. The male was a shade lighter then Rekhmire and his shaved head shined in the torchlight. The women beside him had skin that was lighter still and sleek black hair that reached her shoulder blades. The male looked disgusted at the sight of the two and where she stood beside him, the women smirked._ _ **"You have chosen him, instead of me."**_

" _ **What are you doing here Yuja?"**_ _Rekhmire asked as he glared at the man called Yuja. Though the glare disappeared when he pulled a long sword out of the sheath on his belt. Beside him, the women pulled out a worn, dark silver knife._

" _ **If**_ _ **Henuttawy refuses me, then none shall have her,"**_ _Yuja replied, glancing from the princess to her lover before stepping towards Rekhmire and raising the sword. Henuttawy yelled and moved to step between them, but was but off by the other women who pressed the knife to her neck._

" _ **You have no idea how long I have wanted to do this Henuttawy,"**_ _the women sneered as she continued to press the knife against the neck of the princess. The two men were now on the other side of the room, Rekhmire fighting Yuja unarmed._

" _ **Even if you kill me,"**_ _Henuttawy began._ _ **"My brother and father will find you**_ _ **Meritaten**_ _ **."**_

_Meritaten_ _threw her head back and laughed. Henuttawy took this opportunity and pushed the other women away with a growl. The knife clattered to the floor a few feet away. A grunt of pain sounded on the other side of the room. Both women looked over to see_ _Rekhmire collapse to the ground holding his stomach. Yuja stood over him smiling, the sword in his hand coated with blood. Henuttawy's eyes widened and did not notice that_ _Meritaten_ _was bending down to pick the knife up off the floor._

"NO!" Evelyn yelled as she sat up straight in her bed. Her bangs, wet with sweat clung to her forehead and she sat panting. Down where she lay at the foot of the bed, Nefertiti looked up at her owner and meowed as if to ask what was wrong. Footsteps were heard outside her door before it opened.

"Evelyn?" Scott asked as he peeked his head into the room. Evelyn looked up at him and saw the concern on his face increase as he moved into the room, leaving the door open behind him. Before he sat down on the bed, he turned on the small lamp that sat on her nightstand. He then sat down on the bed beside her and looked at her in concern. "What happened?"

Evelyn swallowed as she tried to get her breathing back to normal. She opened her mouth to reply but was interrupted by the arrival of a concerned John and Gordon, behind them she could make out Virgil and Alan. As John, Gordon, and Alan entered the room, Evelyn watched as Virgil walked down the hall in the direction of their father's bedroom.

Evelyn sat up more and Gordon sat down in the space she vacated while Alan sat down on the other side of Scott, moving Nefertiti out of the way to do so. John grabbed the chair from her desk, turned it around and moved it closer to the bed before sitting down. All of them looked towards their sister in concern. The last time she had a nightmare in which she had started screaming had been four years prior, just after the Hood's attack. Though she never did tell anyone what had happened in the dream.

"It was really wired," Evelyn began as he breathing began to calm. "I was in Egypt. Not modern Egypt but ancient Egypt. About three thousand years ago if I remember right from the names that were said. Though only two of them I have heard of."

Footsteps were heard out in the hall along with the worried voice of their father. Five heads looked towards the door as Jeff entered the room followed shortly by Virgil. As Virgil went and leaned against the desk, Jeff moved forward and knelt down beside where Evelyn sat in bed. He reached up and pushed back her damp bangs to feel her flushed forehead. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied with a small nod as her father's hand left her face and settled down on the lump that was her leg underneath the sheets. "At least I think I am. It was just so vivid and it felt so real like I was actually there."

"What happened?" Gordon asked where he sat beside her.

"As I said before dad and Virge came in, I was in ancient Egypt," she began, still able to see the great golden halls in her mind as clear as day. "It walked into a bed chamber and soon after I entered a young man called Rekhmire came and he called me 'your Highness _ **.**_ '"

Evelyn paused, unconsciously raising a hand to touch her lips as she thought of the kiss that she and Rekhmire had shared in the dream. She shook the thoughts of the kiss away after a moment and lowered her hand before continuing, "Our conversation was interrupted by the entrance of a man call Yuja and a women named Meritaten, both of whom called me Henuttawy. Meritaten held a knife to my throat as Yuja killed Rekhmire and that's when I woke up."

"Have you ever heard of any of these people?" John asked from where he sat in the chair a few feet away from her bed. Virgil had moved away from the desk and now stood beside the blond as they both looked towards their younger sister. Evelyn looked up over at him and nodded.

"The two women I have heard of," she replied. "Henuttawy was the second eldest of the six children of Ramesses the Great and Nefertari. Meritaten is known for murdering Henuttawy when she was in her early twenties."

Alan leaned past Scott and looked over at Evelyn. "Why?"

"No one knows for sure," Evelyn replied as she looked over at Alan. "But what is known is that they two were always enemies for some reason or another."

Silence filled the room for a few moments and was broken by Nefertiti sitting down beside where Jeff kneeled and meowing up at him. All those in the room smiled at the young cat as Jeff reached over and rubbed her head briefly before looking around at his six children with a fond smile. "I think it's time we all get back to bed."

There were mutterings of agreement and Virgil was the first to leave the room, waving towards his siblings as he walked out of Evelyn's room and down to his a few feet away. Alan was the next to leave, followed closely by John. After the two blonds had left the room, Scott leaned past Gordon and mussed Evelyn's now dry bangs before bidding the three left in the room good night.

When it was only Gordon, Evelyn, and Jeff left in the room, Gordon moved closer to his twin and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. Evelyn leaned her head against his shoulder for a few moments before he removed his arm. Where he knelt beside the bed, Jeff smiled fondly at the interaction between the twins. He then bid their father goodnight before heading to his own room just across the hall.

Jeff then stood up off the floor and sat down in the spot Gordon and previously occupied on the bed. Evelyn looked over at him as he sat down beside her. Jeff then reached over and brushed a piece of her dark copper hair behind her ear before laying his hand on her shoulder. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"I think so," she replied softly. Jeff then leaned forward and kissed her forehead before he pushed himself off the bed. As she moved back under the sheets, Jeff pulled sheets up under her chin before bending down and pressing another kiss to her forehead.

"Good night Evelyn," he whispered as he stood back up and reached over to turn off the lamp on her nightstand. Evelyn rested her head against her pillow and smiled up at him. "Night daddy."

Jeff switched off the lamp and the room went dark, the only light being the dim light that came in from the hallway. Jeff then walked over to the door and as he was beginning to pull it closed, Evelyn called softly, "Love you, dad."

"I love you too Evie," he replied softly, smiling into the room before closing the door and then heading down the hall back towards his own. Inside the room, Evelyn smiled in the darkness and closed her eyes, hoping that no more nightmares would come to her between then and morning.


	5. What's Happening to Me?

**Chapter Four-What's Happening to Me?  
** **August 23** **rd** **, 2024**

_From beneath the golden mask she wore to protect her face, Henuttawy smiled. In her hands was a golden pair of sai, one extended in front of her while the other was raised above her head, though both of the blades faced her opponent. Her opponent stood in a similar position and her own golden mask hide the face of Henuttawy's younger sister Beketmut._

_On the stairs leading up to the throne where_ _Ramesses the Great_ _and Nefertari, sat the rest of their siblings along with those of higher social status and of course the Medjai, the Pharaoh's bodyguards. Included in this small crowd was_ _Rekhmire, Yuja, and_ _Meritaten_. _Up where he sat on his throne, Ramesses clapped._

_The clang of metal on metal was heard throughout the room as Beketmut started towards her elder sister, who quickly blocked the oncoming blades and pushed her sister back before starting her own advance. Beketmut stumbled back a few feet and then spun around and blocked the blades before attacking once more, forcing Henuttawy to move back several feet to avoid the blades. She then attacked her sister only for the younger girl to duck beneath the blades and going after Henuttawy's feet. Henuttawy jumped up and back a few feet and her hands with to her sides, muscles tense as they began to circle around each other._

" _ **You are getting slow Henuttawy,"**_ _Beketmut teased as the girls circled each other, spinning the blades in her hands as she did so. "_ _ **Do you need to sit down a rest for a moment?"**_

" _ **I am not a cripple Beketmut,"**_ _Henuttawy replied._ _ **"Besides, sitting around all day is your job, not mine."**_

_Beketmut let out a growl beneath her mask and charged at her sister, aiming her blades at her stomach and feet. Henuttawy jumped up and pushed herself up and over her running sister, using her shoulders to push herself higher into the air. Beketmut landed face first on the floor as Henuttawy landed on her feet in a crouch. She hurriedly stood and just as Beketmut rolled over and began to push herself up, she found one of her sister's blades against her neck._

" _ **That is what you get when you call me old,"**_ _Henuttawy stated, using her free hand to pull up her mask and show the smirk that was currently on her face to Beketmut. The younger girl glared up at her sister as their father stood up off his throne, soon followed by their mother._

Evelyn woke up with a gasp and stared up at the ceiling of her bedroom, panting as if she had actually been sparring like she had in the dream. Though she was glad that she hadn't woken up screaming like she had been doing every night since the first dream. The dream she had had a week before had repeated every night after, until now that is.

She pushed herself up into a sitting position, her breathing beginning to slow down and return to normal. Wiping the sweat from her forehead with her hand, Evelyn looked towards her clock and let out a groan. It was three in the morning. The lack of sleep from the dreams was beginning to wear her down and she was starting to get dark circles under her eyes. Then again, so was her family since her screaming would wake them up and they would come running to see what was wrong.

Well, all of them besides John, since he had returned up to Thunderbird Five a few days after the twins birthday. But for the first time in over a week, she had not woken them up with her screaming and she was hoping to keep it that way. The last thing she wanted was for someone to call them for help and one of them got hurt due to lack of sleep.

Evelyn pushed off her sheets and climbed out of bed, positive she wasn't going to be able to fall back to sleep anytime soon. Nefertiti meowed where she lay at the end of the bed as she watched her owner walk to the bedroom door and step out into the hallway. Evelyn then headed towards the staircase, hoping maybe a mug of hot chocolate would calm her down and help her sleep.

When she reached the kitchen a few minutes later, Evelyn opened the cabinet and pulled out her favorite light blue mug before pulling out a spoon and a package of instant hot chocolate. She tore open the package and dumped the contents into the mug before going to the sink and turning on the separate hot water tap that had been installed and letting some of the steaming hot water fill up the mug.

Turning off the water and setting the mug on the counter, she picked up the spoon. Hearing soft footsteps coming up behind her, her muscles tensed as she stared down at the mug and clenched the spoon tightly in her hand. Around her, the kitchen disappeared and was instead replaced with the throne room in Egypt and the spoon in her hand was a sai. When she sensed that the person was behind her, she spun around and held the spoon to the throat of the person behind her as she had with the sais in her dream. Scott's eyes were wide at her reaction and at the sudden feeling of the spoon against his throat.

The determined expression disappeared from Evelyn's face as the throne room disappeared from around her and she looked up at her older brother. Realization of what she had just happened hit her and she backed up against the counter, letting the spoon fall from her hand. Leaning back against the counter, she put her hands to her mouth as she stared into the air before her with wide eyes. "Oh God. What happening to me?"

Scott moved forward and pulled her into a tight hug. She was reluctant to return it at first but after a few moments she removed her hands from her mouth and wrapped them tightly around her eldest brother as she buried her face in his chest. No tears were shed. Scott just stood there with his arms tightly around Evelyn as she tried to get a handle on her out of control emotions.

"I'm so sorry," she muttered into his shirt, her eyes shut and her breathing quick and shallow. "What's happening to me?"

Unlike the first time she had asked the question, this time Scott answered as he soothingly rubbed circles on his younger sisters back. "I don't know Evie. But we'll figure it out together."

Unwrapping one arm from around her, Scott reached over and grabbed the mug off the counter. Using his other arm, he urged his sister out of the kitchen and into the living room and had her sit down on one of the couches. He then handed her the mug and sat down beside her as she stirred the contents with her finger. Scott wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked, "You had another dream didn't you?"

Evelyn nodded in reply before taking a sip of the warm drink. She then put the mug in her lap and leaned against his side. Scott rubbed her shoulder with his hand and looked down at her as she simply stared ahead. "I'm guessing it was different this time since you didn't scream."

"Yeah," she replied quietly and then took another sip of chocolate. "I was Henuttawy again and this time I was sparring with her younger sister Beketmut in the throne room. I actually saw Ramesses and Nefertari this time."

"Sparing with what?" Scott asked, looking down at her in curiosity. Evelyn just continued to stare straight ahead. "Evelyn?"

"Sai," she replied, her stare moving from the air in front of her to the mug she held in her hands. "When I was in the kitchen and heard your footsteps, I thought I was dreaming again because I didn't see the kitchen and what I held in my hand was not a spoon."

"Maybe going to Egypt will help you figure out what's happening," he stated slowly after a few moments of silence, hoping that was indeed the case and would help his sister return to normal. He tightened his arm around her shoulders. "But I know that whatever happens, we'll all be here to help you figure this out."

"Thanks, Scotty," she replied, looking towards him for the first time since the incident in the kitchen. After taking another sip of the now lukewarm hot chocolate and feeling somewhat normal once more, she asked, "What were you doing up anyway?"

"Since last week," he began. "I've been checking on you about an hour after every dream. And since you didn't scream tonight, I woke up and wondered why you hadn't screamed yet."

"Pretty sad that you've started to wonder that," she replied, tracing her finger around the edge of the mug. After a few moments, she looked up at him with a small smile. "But it's really sweet that you keep checking up on me."

He smiled down at her and squeezed her shoulder. "I haven't been the only one checking up on you. Dad caught me up a few nights ago."

"And right now."

Scott and Evelyn turned their heads around to see their father step off the staircase and walk towards them. Both of them smiled as Jeff walked around the couch and sat down beside Evelyn. Scott removed his arm from Evelyn's shoulders only for Jeff's to replace it a few seconds later. Scott and Evelyn looked towards Jeff who smiled sadly at his daughter. "Again?"

Evelyn nodded in reply. Scott looked between the two of them before asking Evelyn, "Are you done with that Evie?"

Evelyn looked down at the little hot chocolate, well cold now that remained at the bottom of the mug. She then looked at Scott and nodded. "It would seem so."

"Then I'll take this to the kitchen for you," he replied, taking the mug from her hands before standing up from the couch. "Night dad, Evie."

"Thanks, Scott," Evelyn responded as he left the room. She then sighed and leaned up against her father, resting her head on his shoulder.

"What happened in the dream tonight?" Jeff asked, glancing up from Evelyn beside him to see Scott climbing up the stairs towards the second floor. He saw Scott glance back at them and gave his eldest son a grateful smile before he disappeared up the stairs. He then looked back down at his daughter as she explained what had happened in the dream and then told him what had happened in the kitchen when Scott had surprised her.

"We will do everything we can to help you figure this out," Jeff commented, breaking the few moments of silence that had followed Evelyn's explanation of what had happened. Her head still rested on his shoulder as she looked up at him. "And I agree with Scott. Maybe going to Egypt will help."

"Maybe," Evelyn replied softly. She then looked away from her father and muttered under her breath, "Or make things worse."

"Everything's going to be fine Evie," Jeff assured her when he had heard what she said under her breath. He wrapped his other arm around her and pulled her into a hug. Her arms went around him tightly and she buried her face in his shoulder.

"I think I'm starting to go insane," she whispered into his shirt. Jeff's eyes widened for a moment before his expression became determined. He then pushed her away to look at her, his arms holding her in place. When her face was removed from its hiding place, she looked away from her father. Jeff removed one of his hands from its place on her arm and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

"You are not going insane Evelyn. Something strange is happening, that's all," he stated firmly, continuing to hold her chin as he looked at her."We will figure out what's happening, I promise you that."


	6. Last Minute Preparations

**Chapter Five-Last Minute Preparations  
** **September 3** **rd** **, 2024**

Almost two weeks after her newest repeating dream as Henuttawy, Evelyn found herself packing her small suitcase and duffle bag to take to Egypt the next morning. Since the night she had pressed the spoon to Scott's neck, thinking she had once again been in a dream, Evelyn had taken to staying in her room every time she woke up. The last thing she wanted to do was have it happen again. It was scaring her enough as it was.

As she began to sort out what she wanted to take from her bathroom, she looked up into the mirror and fingered a piece of her dark copper hair. She had always worn it short but in the past few years, she had been so focused on classes, cheerleading, and being a Thunderbird that it now hung down past her shoulder blades. Evelyn pursed her lips as she played with a piece of hair. She would be going who knows how long without a proper bathroom, seeing as they would be in the middle of the Sahara without most modern conveniences.

Dropping the piece of hair back into the rest, she walked out of her bathroom and towards the door of her room. Nefertiti meowed from where she sat in Evelyn's suitcase as her owner left the room, walked down the hall and headed downstairs. Reaching the ground floor, she headed towards where Onaha began to prepare dinner in the kitchen. The women looked up from the pan she was currently concentrating on and smiled at the approaching Evelyn. "Hello, Evelyn."

"Hey Onaha," Evelyn greeted as she leaned up against the bar. "Have you seen Tin-Tin?"

"She, Alan, and Fermat headed up to the movie room with a bowl of popcorn about two hours ago," Onaha replied as she stirred the contents of the pan. "Your brother saying that he would beat them at some video game."

"Thanks, Onaha," Evelyn smiled as she pushed herself away from the counter. She sniffed the air as the sweet smell of chicken stir-fry filled the air. "Oh, and that smells really good."

Onaha smiled after Evelyn as she began to climb the stairs to the second floor, now noticing the tell tale signs that someone was in the movie room. The revving of cars and the sound of squealing tires were heard through the speakers. How she had not heard it before, she had no idea. She smiled as she heard Alan yell, "Hey! That's cheating!"

"No it's not Alan," she heard Tin-Tin reply laugh. "Is it Fermat?"

"N-no," Fermat stuttered in reply. Evelyn smiled as she leaned against the doorway and watched the three friends. They sat on the floor in front of the television and had controllers in their hands as their eyes were glued to the screen. The empty popcorn bowl sat behind them.

"Besides," Tin-Tin began. She pushed the joystick on the controller to the right and Alan made a sound of protest. "That's what you get for pushing me off the road during the last game."

Alan opened his mouth to retort but was interrupted when Evelyn cleared her throat. The sounds of the game stopped as it was paused and the three friends looked towards where she stood in the doorway. Alan smiled towards her and the three friends greeted her before she asked, "Hey guys. Sorry to interrupt but can I borrow Tin-Tin for a little bit?"

"Sure," she replied with a shrug. She set down the controller and got up off the floor. Once she was in the doorway beside Evelyn, she turned back and pointed at Alan. "We'll finish this race later. Though I will probably just beat you again."

"We'll see about that," he replied as the two stared at each other, each of them wearing an expression of determination. Where he sat beside Alan, Fermat sighed as he looked between the two of them and shook his head. 

Evelyn rolled her eyes and headed out of the doorway and towards the staircase, Tin-Tin a few seconds behind her. The two had been flirting with each other since they had entered their teens and discovered hormones. _Maybe after Egypt, I'll play cupid,_ Evelyn thought as the two girls reached the third floor.

"So what do you need?" Tin-Tin asked as they entered Evelyn's room. Evelyn went to her desk and pulled out a pair of scissors.

"Before I leave for Egypt," Evelyn began as she walked into the bathroom, Tin-Tin a few steps behind her. She set the scissors down on the counter and looked up into the mirror. "I need a haircut. I would have asked your mom but she's busy and I learned long ago not to let my dad or brother's near my head with scissors."

"But it looks great long," Tin-Tin commented, coming to stand beside the older girl as they looked at her dark copper hair in the mirror.

"It does. But I don't know how often I'll get a chance to clean it really well and when I get home I really don't want to spend a month getting all the dirt out of my hair," Evelyn replied. "So will you cut it for me?"

"How short do you want it?" Tin-Tin asked as she grabbed the scissors off the counter and walked back to stand behind Evelyn. 

Evelyn grabbed a piece near her face and played with it for a few seconds, her fingers just below her chin as she pondered how short to cut it. "Just below the chin."

"Okay," Tin-Tin replied. She brought a strand of hair between her fingers and let them slid down from Evelyn's roots to just below her chin and brought the scissors up to it. The first chunk of hair fell to the floor. "What exactly happened that made you not trust your family with your hair?"

"It was about a year after we moved to the island," Evelyn began as Tin-Tin repeated the process she had used on the first chunk of hair. "I decided that I needed a haircut and Scott decided that he would give it a try, with John, Virgil, and Gordon beside him giving him 'tips.'"

"What happened?" Tin-Tin asked as the second clump of hair fell to the floor.

"He cut my bangs to where they barely existed and the rest was diagonal," Evelyn replied. Tin-Tin laughed as even more strands of hair fell onto the growing pile to the floor. "Dad then decided to try and fix it only to make it worse. After that, every time I said I needed a haircut I was flown to a salon in Los Angeles. They can take care of their own hair but they will never again touch mine."

* * *

About a half an hour after Tin-Tin had finished cutting her hair and had returned down to the movie room, Evelyn had resumed packing her bags. Though the first thing she had to do so she could was kick Nefertiti out of her suitcase. 

As Evelyn closed the lid on the small suitcase and began to zip it closed, a knock was heard on the doorway behind her. She turned around and smiled as her father looked slightly shocked at her now short hair. "Like it?"

"It looks good Evie," he replied as he walked into the room and stood in front of her, keeping one arm behind his back. "Who cut it?"

"Tin-Tin," she responded, taking a piece of her now short hair and twirling it between her fingers. "I wanted less to have to worry about keeping clean since I have no idea how often I will be able to really clean it."

"Understandable. Anyway," Jeff began. He brought his hand out from behind his back, in which was a small padded, black bag with a drawstring top and handed it to Evelyn. "I wanted to give you this."

Evelyn opened the drawstring top of the case and pulled out a small, handheld monitor. On the back was a solar panel while on the face was two small buttons. Evelyn looked up from the device and asked, "What is it?"

"Push the second button," he instructed. Evelyn did so and within seconds the smiling face of John appeared on the screen in full color. Evelyn gaped as she looked between her father beside her and her brother on the screen. "As you can see, the second button will connect you to John while the first will connect you to the monitor in my office. This way you won't have to worry about how you are going to charge your laptop."

"Like the hair Evie," John commented from the screen as Evelyn smiled down at him.

"Thanks, John," she replied. She then smiled at Jeff beside her. "This is awesome, dad."

"DINNER!" they heard Onaha yell from downstairs. 

John smiled at his sister and father as they looked away from the doorway and down at his face on the screen. "I'll talk to you later. Go enjoyed a home cooked meal while I eat one of these meal bars."

"What, you ate all the chocolate up there already?" Evelyn teased. A pink tinge appeared on John's cheeks and with a mumble about talking to them later, cut the connection. Evelyn smiled and shook her head, replacing the monitor into the bag as Jeff laughed and set a hand on her shoulder. 

Once she sat the bag on the bag, he removed the hand and instead put his arm over his shoulders and led the two out of the room. Nefertiti got up from where she had been laying on Evelyn's pillow and went over to sniff the bag.

"Hey dad, Ev-whoa," Gordon began as he headed to the table and spotted his twin and their father stepping off the stairs. He did a double take when he saw her short hair and stopped where he stood a few feet from the table. All those that sat at the table looked over to see what had stopped him short. Their own jaws dropped when they spotted Evelyn's hair.

Jeff laughed and removed his arm from around Evelyn's shoulders before going to sit down between Scott and Brains while Evelyn went to one of the two open seats beside Alan, one of which Gordon sat down in seconds later.

"I'm guessing this is what you needed Tin-Tin for?" Alan asked as those around the table got over the shock of seeing how short her hair had been cut.

Evelyn nodded and began to fill her plate with some of the chicken stir-fry she had seen Onaha preparing earlier. "Yep. I don't know how often I'll get to really clean it while I'm in Egypt and I don't want to be washing it for a month to get all the sand out, so I asked her to cut it for me."

"I like it," Alan replied, filling his own plate with some stir-fry. 

Scott nodded his agreement while Gordon smiled over at her. "I do too Evie."

"It looked good long," Virgil began from where he sat between Scott Gordon. "But it just seems more you now."

"Thanks, guys," Evelyn smiled after she swallowed the bite of stir-fry. She then looked over at Alan beside her. "Oh yeah, Alan? Who ended up winning once Tin-Tin got back?"

Evelyn smirked at him as he took another bite of his own stir-fry and glared over at her. She then looked to where Fermat sat on his other side and asked, "I'm guessing she did?"


	7. Dr. Adrian Ness

**Chapter Six- Dr. Adrian Ness  
** **September 4** **th** **, 2024**

Early the next morning found the inhabitants of Tracy Island, all but John that is, in the hanger of Tracy One, binding Evelyn goodbye and good luck before Jeff flew her to Egypt. Her bags had already been taken into the jet and she and the rest of the island's inhabitants stood beside the plane. She wore one of the dark blue shirts and a pair of khakis that Lady Penelope and Parker had given her for her birthday. Around her neck, tucked beneath her shirt were the locket that had belonged to her great-grandmother, the necklace of Horus John had given her four years prior, and the pendants Gordon had given her for their birthday and on her right hand was the small golden ring that was a set of seven.

Jeff smiled from where he stood beside the stairs up to the small jet, watching as his daughter finished saying goodbye to Tin-Tin, giving the girl instructions on how to look after Nefertiti before giving the younger girl a brief hug and moving over to where her eldest brother stood a few feet away. Scott pulled her to him and hugged her tightly, which she gladly returned. After a few moments, he released her and held her out at arm's length. "Have fun, Evie. And be careful."

"I'll be fine Scott," she replied with a small laugh as she looked up at him. "The worst that could possibly happen to me is getting sunburned, and that's why I have plenty of sunscreen in my bag."

Scott shook his head as he released the hold he had one her arms and she moved away from him and over to Virgil beside him, who also pulled her into a tight hug. "Are you sure you have enough sunscreen and Aloe Vera in case you get burned?"

"I packed every single cream and pill you gave me Virge," she laughed. "Which is probably why my bag is so heavy."

"I just wanted you to be prepared," he replied, musing her bangs as he smiled at her.

"I know," she responded, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. "But I'll be fine, I promise."

"Good luck over there Evie," Virgil laughed as Evelyn moved away from him and over to where Alan stood. The two youngest members of the family smiled at each other for a moment before Alan wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly, she doing the same to him.

"Have fun Evie," he commented as he continued to hold her tightly. He then released her, smirking at her as she moved back. "And if you find any mummies, I wanna hear all the details."

"If I find any I will be sure to tell you sprout," she laughed, shaking her head and ruffling his hair. He frowned at her for a moment before laughing as she moved away from him to stand in front of Gordon.

Just as she and Alan had done, the twins stood across from each other for a moment, smiling before Evelyn moved forward and wrapped her arms tightly around her twin. Gordon hugged her just as tightly as she hugged him, if not tighter. "Be careful Evie."

"I'll be fine Gordy," she replied softly as the twins separated. She smiled at him softly before whispering, "Just start planning what we will be doing when I get back."

A smirk appeared on Gordon's face as he nodded. "Oh, I began planning that weeks ago."

Seeing the smirk on their younger brother's face and hearing his reply to whatever Evelyn had said, Virgil whispered to Scott beside him, "Why do I not like the sound of that?"

* * *

Though the flight to Cairo had only taken a few hours, when Tracy One landed Cairo International Airport it was already late evening. The plan was then taxied to one of the small hangers provided for private jets. Once it was stopped inside the hanger, Jeff performed the post flight checks before meeting Evelyn in the cabin of the plane, her bags in hand as he opened the hatch.

As they climbed through the hatch and began to descend the stairs, a man who looked to be a few years older than Scott with lightly tanned skin moved to the bottom of the stairs to greet them. He wore a loose fitting dark brown shirt with dark khaki pants. Hiding his dark brown hair was a small red cap with a black tassel signifying his position as curator. Jeff set a hand on Evelyn's shoulder as he watched the man's dark eyes take in Evelyn as they walked down the stairs.

"Welcome to Cairo Mr. and Ms. Tracy," he greeted as father and daughter stepped off the stairs. He extended his hand towards both of them. Evelyn moved forward to shake his hand but was cut off by her father's. Jeff smiled politely at the man as he shook his hand, but there was something about him that the Tracy patriarch did not like.

"I'm guessing that you are Dr. Ness," Evelyn stated as she too shook the man's hand. 

He nodded before smiling at her. "Yes, and you must be Evelyn Tracy, the student at the University of Massachusetts that George had been raving about. He said you had a natural gift when it comes to reading hieroglyphs."

Evelyn blushed at the comment and looked down at the ground, "I'm not that good at it. And besides, he had only just begun teaching me how to read them a few months before his death."

"George never raved about someone unless they showed true potential," Dr. Ness replied as he looked down at the blushing young women, missing Jeff's brief look of suspicion which turned back into a polite smile as he glanced over at him. "But we best be going. If we leave now we should reach Amarna by late morning tomorrow."

"Where exactly is Amarna?" Jeff asked. 

Evelyn looked up from the floor at the question and over at her father before looking towards Dr. Ness as he replied, "By car it is about two days south of here but by helijet we should arrive in the late morning, after stopping briefly in a trading post located around halfway between Cairo and Amarna."

"Well," Evelyn began. "I guess we should get going."

"We should," Dr. Ness nodded. He glanced over Evelyn's shoulder at Jeff. "I will give you a few moments to say goodbye."

"Okay," Evelyn answered as Dr. Ness turned around and walked towards the entrance to the hanger. Evelyn turned around, set her bags down on the ground before wrapping her arms around her father. Jeff wrapped his arms around his daughter tightly and held her for a few moments before she began to pull away. Jeff reached up and cupped her cheek as she smiled up at him. "Be careful Evelyn."

"I'll be fine dad," she replied. Jeff's hand fell back to his side as she chuckled and shook her head."I'll call you guys as soon as I get settled in wherever I'm going to be staying while I'm there."

Jeff watched as she bent down to pick up her bags before standing up and smiling at him. "Everything's going to be fine, so stop worrying before you get any more gray hairs."

Jeff laughed for a moment before stepping forward and wrapping his arms around her, being careful of the bags in her hands. He released her after a moment and kissed the top of her head. "I love you, Evelyn."

"Love you too, dad," she replied. With a sigh, she turned away from him and walked towards where Dr. Ness was waiting near the entrance to the hanger. 

Once the two were out of sight, he turned around and walked up the stairs and into Tracy One. After securing the hatch, he went into the cockpit and sat down. Reaching forward to the monitor that had been installed between the seats, he pushed the button that called up the Thunderbird Five. After a few seconds, the face of his second eldest appeared on the screen.

"Hey, dad. Already dropped off Evie?" John asked, leaning back in his chair and smiling at his father.

"Yeah, she's on her way to the dig site in Amarna," Jeff replied. "John, I want you to see what you can find on this Adrien Ness."

John sat forward in his chair. "What did he do?"

"Nothing outside of looking at Evelyn. But," Jeff sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he leaned back in the pilot's seat. "There is just something about him that I don't like."

"I'll see what I can find," John replied. "Oh, and Scott told me that Lady Penelope called."

"What about?" Jeff asked.

John shrugged and leaned back in his chair. "Scott said she wanted to talk to all of us at once. Didn't say what about."

"I'll call her when I get back to the island," Jeff replied, sitting up in his chair and preparing Tracy One for takeoff.

"FAB dad, and I'll see what I can find on this Adrien," John leaned forward in his chair and smiled at his father. "Have a safe flight."


	8. Amarna

**Chapter Seven- Amarna  
** **September 5** **th** **, 2024**

Evelyn smiled as she stepped out of the helijet that had been landed on the outskirts of the ruined city. Holding a hand over her eyes to block the bright afternoon sun for a moment, she was able to see one large structure had been fully excavated along with many smaller buildings surrounding it and an array of statues depicting Horus, Anubis and countless others near the entrance to the largest structure. Lowering her hand, she turned back to the helijet and pulled out her bags. Turning around, she spotted Dr. Ness smiling at her. "Welcome to the city of Amarna."

"It's incredible," she replied, smiling at all that was around her as she followed Dr. Ness as he led her towards the smaller buildings on the outskirts of the city. "And to think all this was hidden beneath the sand."

"Yes. See that large building there?" he pointed to the largest structure in the city and from the where they now walked in the outskirts of the city, Evelyn guessed that it had once been a very grand and beautiful structure. Though to her, it was still just as beautiful as it had probably been three thousand years prior. "That is the Royal Palace of Amarna, where Ramesses the Great lived for a time with his family. It was the Palace that George discovered four years ago. It is said that Ramesses and his family left the city and moved back the palace in Cairo after the murder of his eldest daughter Henuttawy. "

Dr. Ness continued to explain how his predecessor had discovered the rest of the city, but Evelyn no longer heard him. She stopped dead in her tracks as the ruined city disappeared from around her and was replaced with one that was whole and full of life. Gasping, Evelyn glanced around in amazement at the structures around her that seemed to be the homes of those that lived in the city. People milled through the streets, passing her with a glance in her direction and a smile before continuing on. The tops of palms trees were visible over many of the houses. Laughter and music floated through the air and several children passed by her, laughing as they chased each other through the streets of Amarna. The Royal Palace gleamed in the afternoon sun and Evelyn felt all breath leave her at the sight of it.

From one of the pathways ahead of her, a man emerged with tanned skin. His head was covered with a headdress and on his right hand, he bore a ring that told the all those that saw him that this young man was next in line to be pharaoh. He smiled as he approached her. **"Why are you just standing there Henuttawy? We are going to be late."**

When he moved to grab her hand, another body passed through his and the grand city disappeared from around her as Dr. Ness stood before her, wearing a look that seemed to be part concern and part satisfaction. "Are you alright?"

She glanced around the ruins for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, it's all just so stunning."

"Understandable. I reacted similarly upon first seeing it myself," he replied with a smile before mentioning for them to continue on towards the center of the city. "Since we arrived her later than expected, I shall introduce you to a few of the people in charge here before showing you to your tent so you can relax a little before dinner."

"Sounds good," she responded. The homes around her continued to grow larger until they stopped and they entered the large square in the center of the city, the front gates of the palace several yards away. The square was filled with tents and people to one end while one the side closest to the palace were several canopied areas and larger tents. Under the canopies was the makeshift cafeteria filled with tables, the smell of food wafting through the square.

Heading through the throngs of workers, Dr. Ness led her towards the largest tent near the palace. Upon reaching it, he opened the flap and allowed her to enter the tent first before entering the tent behind her. A large table was sent up in the center, a model of the city sitting in its center. Tables around the room were littered with books, papers, and several computers. Several pictures were hanging from the walls of the tent. In the tent were three people gathered around the center table, two of whom looked to be Egyptian like the workers they had passed outside. They all looked up when Dr. Ness and Evelyn entered the tent.

"My friends," he began as he walked towards the table. "I introduce to you Ms. Evelyn Tracy."

The only women, who was the only one that did not appear to be Egyptian and appeared to be in around Lady Penelope's age, smiled before pushing herself away from the table and walking around her colleagues and coming to stand before Evelyn. Her strawberry blond hair was pulled into a tight ponytail and her brown eyes showed her enthusiasm at the presence of another female. She extended her hand for Evelyn to shake. As the two women shook hands, she spoke with a slight Australian accent. "Hello, Evelyn. I'm Kyleigh Crawford. I can't tell you how happy I am that I am no longer the only female here."

"She's been talking of nothing but since we were told that you were coming," commented one of the Egyptian men as he came to stand beside Kyleigh and placed a hand on her shoulder. Both Kyleigh and Evelyn smiled at him before he too extended his hand towards Evelyn. "Narmer Sayyid."

"Nice to meet you both," Evelyn responded as she shook his hand. As she released it, she looked between him and Kyleigh in curiosity. "Are you two?"

The two of them laughed for a few moments before Kyleigh nodded. "Yes, we are. We met four years ago when we started the expedition with George."

"Narmer here is our lead excavator, who led the diggers that unearthed the palace four years ago while Kyleigh is our resident Geologist," Dr. Ness explained. Narmer smiled at the doctor while Kyleigh blushed and looked down. Dr. Ness then motioned for the final man in the tent to step forward. "And this is Kaphiri Alavi, an Egyptologist like myself."

Unlike the other two, he did not step forward to greet Evelyn but simply gave her a stiff nod before resuming what he was working on at the table. Dr. Ness's smile fell a bit as he turned back to Evelyn. "He's not the most sociable person, though he will never improve his English if he never talks."

Dr. Ness scoffed at the lack of response from Kaphiri and rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I will now let Kyleigh show you to your tent since both of yours are slightly separated from the rest to give you a bit of privacy."

Kyleigh moved forward and took the suitcase from Evelyn's hand with a smile before motioning for her to leave the tent. The two women exited the ten, Kyleigh telling Evelyn where things were located in the square and pointing out people along the way. They soon arrived at two good sized tents located at the far side of the square, distanced a little ways away from the others. Evelyn entered the tent that Kyleigh pointed out to be hers with the elder women a few steps behind her. There was a cot to the one side with a fluffy looking pillow on it while across from it saw a small desk.

"I'll come get you in about ten minutes and we'll head to dinner," Kyleigh told her after she set down Evelyn's suitcase beside the bed and headed towards the flap of the tent.

"Okay," Evelyn answered as the flap fluttered closed. With a sigh, she sat down on the bed beside her duffle. She was actually her, in Egypt, at the site of an actual archeological dig. Even with the strange dreams and the vision she had experienced when she had first entered the city couldn't bring down the happiness that she felt. And seeing as this was the location her dreams had taken place at, maybe being in the city would help her figure out what was going on. But for the time being, she was going to have fun. So with a smile, Evelyn zipped open her duffle and began to unpack.

* * *

Jeff postponed calling Lady Penelope back until the next morning, see as when he arrived back at Tracy Island it was already late in the evening in England. So after breakfast the next morning found Jeff sitting in the chair at his desk with Scott, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan standing around him while one of the computers showed John up on Thunderbird Five and the other calling Lady Penelope. After a few moments, the picture of Lady Penelope appeared on the screen. As usual, the women was garbed in all pink, though her expression was anything but happy.

"Hey Penny," Jeff greeted, though his smile faded when he saw the grim expression on the women's face. "What is it?"

"He's escaped," she replied softly. All those in the room paled, along with John up on Thunderbird Five. "Along with Transom, Mullion, and a women named Saadia."

Jeff closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose as he took a deep breath. The man that wanted his entire family dead had escaped from prison. When he opened his eyes, Penelope continued. "It seems they escaped some time ago and he used his powers to make them think he was there, so it is unknown when they actually escaped."

"He's stronger," Alan whispered. Scott glanced over at him for a moment and place a hand on the blonde's shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Any clues as to where he may be?" Jeff asked. 

Penelope shook her head. "Nothing. The only thing found in his cell was an old newspaper featuring an article of Evelyn's graduation."

"There's no way he could know she's in Egypt," Gordon commented, beginning to feel worried for his twin.

"He may not know she is there, but it is possible he is in Egypt," Penelope replied. Each of the Tracy's lost the little color that had been remaining. "The women that escaped with them, Saadia, is Egyptian. She was raised in an orphanage in Cairo until she turned sixteen when she killed the caretaker and left the orphanage. She was arrested back in May for attempting to murder the Prime Minister."

Jeff's worry for his daughter increased tenfold at this news. He looked at the screen that showed his second eldest son, hoping he had found something that would give him the excuse to call Evelyn and tell her that she was coming home as soon as possible. "Anything on Ness?"

"Nothing dad. The guy is clean," John answered. "Went to Oxford and became assistant George Carnarvon not long after graduating with honors."

Jeff sighed deeply and sat back in the chair. He knew that unless he had evidence that Ness had gone to prison or something along those lines, Evelyn would not come home. All he could do was warn her and tell her to be on her guard as he sat at home and hoped that the Hood did not know where she was. There was no article in the papers about her going so unless someone at the site knew him or those that escaped with him, he would never know where she was.

"I'll call you if I hear anything," Penelope commented. Jeff nodded and thanked her before the connection was cut and the screen went black. Silence filled the office for several minutes, only to be interrupted by the beeping of the computer that had previously shown Lady Penelope. Leaning forward and pushing the button to accept the call, the smiling face of Evelyn appeared on the screen.


	9. First Night

**Chapter Eight-First Night**

"Night Kyleigh!" Evelyn called after the older women as she pulled back the flap and entered her tent, her stomach comfortably full from the beef stew that had been served for dinner. It could never measure up to Onaha's cooking but for being in the middle of nowhere with limited resources it had been quite good. It was better than whatever she had eaten at the small trading post between Amarna and Cairo.

As the flap fell back into place, Evelyn walked over to where she knew the desk was in her small tent and turned the dial on the solar powered lamp. As the tent was bathed in the warm glow of the lamp, she moved over and sat down on the bed. Reaching over to where she had set up her suitcase as a makeshift nightstand, she grabbed the black bag off of it and settled into a comfortable position on her bed.

She pushed the first button and bit her lip as she waited for someone to answer, eager to tell them about all she had learned so far. Luckily she didn't have to more than a few seconds before her father's face appeared on the screen, her four earthbound brothers behind him. She smiled at them. "Hey, guys!"

Her smile faded as she took in their appearances and her expression quickly turned too concerned as she noticed how pale they all were. "Why are you guys as white as a sheet?"

Before her father could answer, he looked away from the screen for a few moments. He nodded before turning back to look at her. "John says to push one-two-one."

"Okay," Evelyn answered, pushing the combination she had been told to. After she pushed the first button for the second time, a smaller picture appeared in the upper right-hand corner of the screen showing her second eldest brother up on Thunderbird Five. Even though the image was small and he was never as tanned as the rest of the family, he was far paler than normal. "Okay, what is going on?"

"He's escaped," Jeff replied softly. Evelyn didn't need to ask for specific details. She knew who 'he' was and in a matter of seconds was just as pale as the rest of her family. "Along with Transom, Mullion, and a women named Saadia."

"Who's she?" Evelyn asked softly after a few seconds of sitting in silence and just staring at the image of her family on the screen.

"Lady Penelope told us she's an Egyptian who was arrested for attempted murder of the Prime Minister in May," John explained. Evelyn went a few shades paler at the thought that the Hood could have been in Cairo at the same time she had been, and could still be in Egypt. She suddenly knew why her family was so pale; they were afraid for her.

"Guys," she began softly. "I'm in the middle of nowhere. There's no way he could know I am here unless he knows someone that knew I was going to be here, and that list is rather short."

"How many?" Scott asked from where he stood behind their father, his hand on Alan's shoulder.

"Four," she replied. "One of them was Dr. Ness of course. Then there's Kyleigh Crawford, the Geologist here. Narmer Sayyid is the lead excavator and is Kyleigh's boyfriend, and then there's Kaphiri Alavi, another Egyptologist. They are all very nice. Well, Kyleigh and Narmer are. Kaphiri didn't say anything but from what I can tell he never really has and apparently is not very entirely fluent in English."

She saw her father glance away from the screen and she saw John nod where he sat on Thunderbird Five. Evelyn rolled her eyes. Her father was asking him to see what he could find on the people around her. "Dad, there is nothing wrong with any of them. They've been nothing but nice to me."

"There is just something about Dr. Ness I don't like," he replied as he looked back towards the screen her image was on. Evelyn opened her mouth to defend him but Jeff interrupted her. "Anyway, how is it over there?"

Evelyn's smile returned. "Incredible, absolutely incredible. And I haven't even seen inside any of the ruins yet, just the streets. And everyone is really nice, though only four people around here speak fluent English and I am one of two females within a two hundred mile radius."

"You mean to say you're surrounded by a bunch of guys," Scott commented, looking slightly uncomfortable with the idea of so many men around his sister.

"Pretty much," she replied with a shrug. She then decided it was best to change the subject away from the male population of the area before she gave them another reason to be overprotective of her. "Anyway, something strange happened when I first entered the city. I guess you could call it a vision."

"A vision of what?" Scott asked, remembering very clearly what had happened after her last vision and that was something he was not about to forget anytime soon.

"Of Amarna three thousand years ago," she began. "All the ruins just seemed to fade away to show what it had been, with people walking in the streets and children laughing as they chased each other."

"Any idea why you had it?" asked Scott.

Evelyn nodded. "Because this was the city that Henuttawy and her family lived in up until her murder. When I go to the Royal Palace tomorrow, I will probably see the places I've been to in my dreams."

"Hopefully you won't experience another vision when you do," Jeff stated, the rest of the family muttering their agreement as they watched Evelyn on the screen.

"Hopefully," Evelyn agreed. "If it happens again, I may not be able to cover it as well as I did with Dr. Ness earlier. That and all this is just getting really old so hopefully actually going in there and seeing the places from my dreams will put a stop to all this, or at least help me figure out why this is happening."

Evelyn then turned away from the screen to yawn. She turned back to see him smiling at her. "I'll let you go now so that you can get some rest. Just be careful and keep an eye out for anything suspicious."

"I will dad," she answered. "I'll call you again tomorrow night."

"Sounds good," Jeff replied with a nod. "Sleep well, Evelyn."

"Night dad," she responded. She then looked at the screen, searching for a button to turn it off. She looked back at the faces on the screen and smiled sheepishly. "Um…how do you turn this thing off?"

"Push one-two-one again," John instructed, smiling at the picture of his sister on the screen.

"Thanks, John. Night guys," Evelyn smiled at the image of her family one last time before pushing the combination of buttons she had been told to. The image of her family on the island disappeared first, shortly followed by the image of John until the entire screen was black. She then grabbed the pouch and inserted the monitor back into it before setting it back on her suitcase.

With a sigh, Evelyn peeled off her boots and set them down on the rug that made up the floor of the tent. She then got up, walked over to the desk and turned down the dial on the lamp to where it was very dim but still provided an enough light so she would hopefully not trip on anything.

She then walked back over to the bed, pulled down the sheet and climbed in. Once settled under the sheet and her head rested comfortably on the pillow, she reached under her shirt and pulled out the pendants Gordon had given her on their birthday. She smiled at them for a few moments, fingering the dolphin before tucking them back underneath her shirt and closing her eyes. She concentrated on the faces of her family, hoping that no dreams would interrupt her sleep tonight.


	10. The Tablet

**Chapter Nine-The Tablet  
** **September 6** **th** **, 2024**

Not long after a breakfast of what was said to be oatmeal, Evelyn found herself in the first group scheduled to head into the Royal Palace that morning along with Dr. Ness, Kyleigh, Narmer and a large group of Egyptian diggers with them in case they ran into any unexpected obstacles. The group passed through the gates leading to the palace and walked through the courtyard. Two great statues of Horus flanked the large doorway of the palace.

Passing through the doorway into the dark halls of the palace, Evelyn as well as many others switched on their flashlights and shown them around the room. Evelyn held her breath as she gazed upon the grand room in decay around her, hoping that no vision would plague her while she was here. The last thing she needed was to try and cover it up around the large group of people, though only three of them would even understand what she was saying. Though she had been lucky enough not to have another dream the night before and for that she was grateful.

"This way," Narmer instructed in English before repeating it in Egyptian Arabic so the diggers would understand him, leading the group towards one of the doors that were scattered around the hall, though this one appeared to have been one of the many hidden passageways that were said to be in the Palace and what appeared to be the ruins of the door lay in a pile a few feet away. He disappeared into the darkness of the doorway and the group followed him with Evelyn trailing near the rear of the group as she gazed around the dark room. Shining her light into the doorway, it revealed a set of stairs that would take them underneath the palace.

Pulling up the small pouch on her shoulder that held a bottle of water, extra batteries, and the monitor that he father had given her in its padded pouch, just in case something were to go wrong and they would need help. Though how she would get away from the group and contact them in private as to not reveal their identities she did not know, but she would worry about that if anything happened.

She carefully walked down the staircase, her flashlight shining on the back of Kyleigh a few feet ahead of her and the boots of all those in the group echoing in the tunnel. After several minutes of walking in the dark tunnel, the group excited into a large chamber and shined their lights around the room. Evelyn let out a gasp as many lights were shined around the room. Dust covers various statues that had been arranged throughout the room and covered an immense amount of jewelry. Evelyn also noted that one of the statues of Anubis had his arms crossed over his chest and in his hands were clasped a dust covered pair of what she was sure were golden Sai. It was a tomb, a private tomb and she had a feeling that she knew who had been buried here.

As several large, oil lamps were lit and the room was flooded with light, Evelyn switched off her flashlight along with everyone else and made her way over to where Dr. Ness was examining a shelf that had been built of stone, on which sat a large stone sarcophagus with what appeared to be a box covered with a thick layer of dust. He sucked in a breath and then blew it across the lid of the box, the dust flying into the air. As Evelyn approached, he pulled out a brush from his pocket and swept off the remaining dust.

He looked up and smiled at her, motioning for her to come forward. "Try to read the hieroglyphs. Let's see those skills that George raved about in use."

Evelyn looked down to study box, hoping that Dr. Ness did not notice the slight blush that had appeared on her cheeks. Her green eyes studied the images that had been etched into the black stone that had been melded onto the wood of the box, her mind forgetting all thoughts of her blushing as she studied them carefully, her brow furrowing in concentration. "It-it speaks of a curse. 'Death will come on swift wings to whoever opens this chest."

"Very good," Dr. Ness commented with a smile as a strange wind whistled through the room. Both he and Evelyn glanced around the room for a moment and over where the diggers stood with Narmer they looked around the room fearfully. Dr. Ness then turned back to Evelyn and turned her attention back to the chest before her. "What else of it can you read?"

"Not much else. Something about sacred law and assimilating organs and fluids," she replied, looking up from the box and over at the man beside her as all thoughts and fears of where that wind had come from disappeared. "That's all I could figure out since the rest of the symbols I was never taught."

"For an incomplete education in how to read them," he began. "You did very well. In the minimal time he spent teaching you, you have learned things that for some people it takes decades to learn in just a few years. No wonder George raved about you. "

"Thanks," she answered softly, looking away and towards the nervous diggers on the other side of the room. He smiled at her for a moment before looking to the stone sarcophagus and blowing a bit of dust off of the top of it. He then motioned for her to read the hieroglyphs engraved into the stone. As with the chest, she studied to symbols before her. "Here lies Henuttawy, daughter of Ramesses the Great and Nefertari."

He suspicions about whose chamber it had been confirmed, Evelyn slowly backed away from the sarcophagus. Her breathing became labored as she glanced around the room at the various objects only for them to flash momentarily the image of their former glory. She continued to back up until the collided with someone behind her. The flashes stopped as two hands grasped her arms and Kyleigh looked down at her in concern "Are you alright?"

Evelyn shook her head, her breathing and erratic heartbeat beginning to slow as she looked at the elder women. Kyleigh looked up at Dr. Ness who still stood beside the sarcophagus and looked at her with mild concern. "I'm going to take her back up and have Gahiji get her something to eat."

Ness nodded in reply before Kyleigh grasped Evelyn's shoulders and began to lead her back towards the staircase that would take them back to the surface, turning on her flashlight as she went. As Narmer and the diggers watched the two women leave, no one noticed the smirk that briefly appeared on Dr. Ness's face for a few moments only to disappear when all eyes turned away from the doorway to the tomb.

* * *

"Are you sure you are alright?" Kyleigh asked as Evelyn glared over her bowl of soup at the older women. They had come out of the Royal Palace half an hour before and Gahiji had prepared her a bowl of soup that would accompany the day's lunch and ever since they had sat down at one of the tables in the makeshift cafeteria the elder women had been asking Evelyn if she was alright. Somehow luck had been with her and Kyleigh had believed Evelyn's excuse of being claustrophobic.

Evelyn set the spoon back in her mostly empty bowl. "I'm fine."

Voices coming from the other side of the Palace gates floated into the tent and both women looked in that direction where the excited voices were coming from. They watched as Dr. Ness disappeared into the command tent with something in his hands and Narmer walking quickly towards them with a large grin on his face. Evelyn and Kyleigh stood from the bench, grabbed their bags that had been sitting on the bench beside them and moved to met him near the entrance to the cafeteria area. Kyleigh smiled at him. "I'm guessing you found something after we left."

"We did," he replied, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling Kyleigh to his side."He thinks it may be a table depicting what exactly happened to Henuttawy. He has asked for both of you to meet him in the main tent."

"Where did he find it?" Evelyn asked as the three moved towards the command tent. Narmer looked at her with a raised eyebrow as they walked.

"She's claustrophobic," Kyleigh stated as they approached the tent. Narmer nodded in understanding as he pulled open the flap and allowed the two women to enter before himself. Dr. Ness stood before the table in the center examining a large stone tablet that was set in front of him. Evelyn looked around the tent and noted that Kaphiri Alavi was nowhere in sight. Kyleigh also noticed this for as the trio moved towards the table she asked, "Where is Kaphiri?"

"I have no idea where that man has gotten too," Dr. Ness replied as he turned around to face the group. He motioned for Evelyn to stand beside him as he muttered under his breath, "And frankly I don't care at the moment."

"Does this tablet actually tell what happened the night Henuttawy was killed?" Evelyn asked as she watched Dr. Ness pull out his brush once more and dust off the tablet. He set the brush down the on the table next to the tablet while he shook his head. "Then what is it?"

"I have a hunch. Try to reach the inscription, out loud please," he instructed, moving out of the way so Evelyn could bend over the tablet completely. Evelyn did not question why he wanted her to read it aloud but quickly set to work reading the hieroglyphs, her eyebrows furrowed together and her muscles tense as she began to speak the written inscription. "Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei."

After a few moments and Ness correcting her occasionally, she finished the inscription. The tent is silent when she is finished and Dr. Ness is smiling at Evelyn, though unlike the smiles she had previously seen on his face, this one she did not like. Though the walls of the tent a piercing whine was heard. Evelyn cast Dr. Ness a suspicious look before heading to the flap that Narmer now held open as both he and Kyleigh looked out into the distance, where and dark mass swirled around as it approached the camp. The diggers that had remained in the camp began to run towards the palace gates screaming one word in Egyptian; locusts.

"Quick, we must reach the Palace," said Narmer, pushing the flap up and once more allowing the two women to go before him, not looking back at all to see that Dr. Ness continued to smile. As soon as they were out they began to race towards the Royal Palace as the swarm of insects entered the far side of the camp. Evelyn panted as she ran as fast as she could, hitching her bag up further onto her shoulder. Kyleigh and Narmer just a few feet ahead of her.

A few moments later they reached the last of the workers running into the Palace and follow the group as they run past the doorway they had gone to earlier and deeper into the heart of the palace. Evelyn glanced back over her shoulder to see that the swarm of locusts were now directly behind her and batted away a few that flew around her head. As she continued to bat them off, she looked ahead to see that they were approaching a large set of intact wooden doors with people on either side waiting to close it.

Evelyn pushes herself harder as they begin to close the doors when she was a few feet away. A few seconds later she slid through the small opening that remained and began to slow to a jog as a resounded 'THUD' echoed in the room. As she came to a stop, she began to open her bag to pull out a flashlight when something's squished beneath her foot. She brought the light out and switched it on, pointing it down in front of her.

She back up a few feet as her light landed on one of the many frogs that now shared the room with the people that had fled from the camp. As her breathing began to return to normal, she flashed the light around the room, looking for some clue as to where she was in the Palace. She heard Kyleigh call through the darkness, "Evelyn! Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she replied, flashing her light around the room in hopes of finding the older women. She let out a sigh of relief as the light landed on where she stood hand in hand with Narmer a good twenty feet away. As she began to question where all the other workers had gone, she spotted five dark figures approaching the pair from behind. The largest of the group stepped forward behind them and set a decayed hand on the couple's shoulders. Evelyn screamed at the decomposed face that looked down at the two of them. Her scream attracted the corpse's attention and he looked up towards her as lights flared to life around them.

Several of the diggers lay dead on the floor while those living lit several large oil lanterns, even larger than those that had been used in the tomb that morning. Kyleigh and Narmer yelled as the corpse pushed them apart and into the hands of waiting diggers, who began to tie their hands together, neither of them putting up a fight as they stared at the corpse before them.

A dry chuckle sounded from behind the corpse and he turned around and faced the red robed figure that had stepped forward, smirking as he walked towards Evelyn. Evelyn's eyes widened even further as the Hood smirked at her. "Hello again, Evelyn."


	11. Trap

**Chapter Ten- Trap**

Jeff had been sitting at his desk reading over one last report from Tracy Industries before turning in when the rescue alarm sounded. He quickly stood from his chair after he activated Command and Control switch. The monitor before him flared to life with the face of his second eldest son as he sat back down, his four earthbound sons entering the room.

"Dad," John began, looking as pale as he had when they had been told of the Hood possibly being in Egypt. "The call came from Dr. Ness."

"What all do you know John?" Jeff asked, his worry for his daughter growing as his four sons came to stand by his shoulder to see what was happening.

"Strange things are happening in all of Egypt. Frog and locusts are coming out of nowhere and destroying all crops in their path and just being a complete nuisance to the population as they pass through," John explained. "Though they all seem to be heading for one place."

"Amarna," Jeff whispered softly. On the screen, John nodded. As Jeff began to stand from his chair, Scott, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan went to their prospective portraits as they slid up to expose the lift behind them. 

As Jeff moved to go to his own portrait, he glanced over to see that Gordon had suddenly gone a few shades paler and his green eyes were wide. Jeff stopped heading towards his own portrait and instead headed over to where his second youngest son stood in his lift."Gordon?"

"Something's happened to Evie," he responded. The rest of his family went pale when he said this. The last time the twins had experienced something like this had been five years ago when Evelyn had known something had happened to Gordon before Jeff had called her and told her that he had been in an accident. "I don't know what, I just know that she's hurt."

Jeff nodded and grasped Gordon's shoulder for a moment and gave it a supportive squeeze before heading over to his own lift and stepping inside. "Thunderbirds are go."

* * *

Evelyn did not respond to the Hoods 'greeting' as he stopped before her, still smirking. Her flashlight fell to the ground and clattered to the floor. At the Hoods shoulder's stood Transom and Mullion, who were also smirking at her. "I supposed you are wondering why we are here. The answer to that is very simple; revenge. And in order to extract my revenge, we had a very useful ally who also has a thing of her own against her."

"Who?" Evelyn asked, her eyes flicking back to see Kyleigh and Narmer exchange glances, obviously confused as to how this man knew her. 

_But who has a thing against me?_ _I mean sure there were a few people in school that thought I was a spoiled brat and hated my guts but I never took them to be the violet type._  

The Hood smiled and glanced back at the other end of the room. "Saadia!"

A shadow appeared in the doorway on the other side of the long and narrow room and as she stepped into the light it was revealed to be women with tanned skin and sleek black hair wearing khaki cargo pants and a tight black shirt. She smirked as she walked towards Evelyn, who now stared that the women with her mouth open for she had seen this woman before, only in her dream she was known as Meritaten.

As Evelyn blinked, an image of said women flashed before her eyes and the features of both Meritaten and Saadia melded into one image. The corpse also looked towards the women and a smile formed on his decomposed face. **"** **Meritaten** **."**

She stopped before the corpse, still smirking. **"Yes Yuja. It is I, only reincarnated. Just as our dear Henuttawy has been. And it is she you have to thank for reading the excerpt from the Book of the Dead."**

Evelyn's eyes widened as she looked between the corpse and the women, who had both turned to look at her.  _They think I'm Henuttawy! But that's impossible!_ _Wait, Book of the Dead?_  

Evelyn shifted as Yuma's eyes roamed her body as he smirked. The Hood smiled at the uncomfortable Evelyn. "We also had help from another. A man you known as Adrian Ness, who grew up in the same orphanage as Saadia and is currently putting in a rescue call to your family."

"You just can't let it go can you," Evelyn scoffed and shook her head. "Even after Alan saved your life, you still want us dead."

"Your father left me to die in that mine," he growled in reply."And I assume that after young Alan did that your father made him part of the team?"

"What in the world is going on?" Narmer demanded from the other side of the room, struggling against his captor. "How do you know her?"

"Ah, yes," the Hood began, turning away from Evelyn who did not move as Yuja and Saadia watched the exchange with interest, the latter of which translated the conversation into Egyptian for the corpse. The Hood smirked towards Kyleigh and Narmer before turning back to Evelyn. "You have yet to tell the world that it is your family that makes up the members of International Rescue."

The couple stopped struggling against their captors and looked towards Evelyn with wide eyes and expressions of complete disbelief. Evelyn smiled sadly towards them and gave them a slight nod to indicate that the Hood was indeed telling the truth. 

The Hood smirked at the shocked expressions on the couples faces before turning back to Evelyn and asked, "I wonder, did your father ever make you part of the team or were you left behind as always?"

"He did as a matter of fact," she growled in reply as she glared at the Hood.

"And they are currently on their way here right now," added a voice from the doorway Saadia had just entered through. Narmer and Kyleigh glared at their former boss as he walked past them without a second glance, the former of which was cursing him in Egyptian. "Though they have no idea they are flying into a trap."

"You'll never get away from it!" Evelyn yelled as she glared at Adrian, who came to stand beside Saadia and smirked towards Evelyn. She looked away from the man and towards the Hood. "We put you in jail once and we'll do it again."

"Oh, I won't be going back there again," the Hood replied calmly, stepping towards Evelyn who in turn took a step backward towards the wall behind her. This only caused him to smirk once more. "I'm afraid that they will be too busy morning your death."

Behind him was the sound of scrapping metal as Saadia pulled a dark silver knife from its sheath. Saadia smirked as Evelyn's eyes widened once more. She held it up and the light from the lamps reflected off of the knife."I see you recognize this knife, Evelyn. It was this same knife that I used to kill Henuttawy in my past life."

Yuja smirked as Saadia stepped towards Evelyn, who began once more to back up towards the wall behind her. Her heart thundered in her chest and she watched Saadia walk towards her with wide eyes. Evelyn continued to slowly back away. They wanted to kill her, just to cause her family pain.

A pained grunt from the other side of the room distracted everyone. All those who had been facing Evelyn turned to see that Narmer had used the back of his head and bashed his captor in the face, who promptly released the hold her had on the man as his hands flew to his face. Evelyn took this distraction and began to run along the wall, away from the group. Narmer smirked as he looked up from the captor he had knocked un conscious. "Run Evelyn!"

The group that had turned to see what had happened spun back around to see Evelyn running. Evelyn screamed as Yuja roared, causing her to fall back against the wall beside her. The section of wall spun around and with a scream, Evelyn fell into the dark tunnel. Glancing back at where she thought the wall she had just come through was, she cautiously stepped forward.

She let out another scream as the step beneath her disappeared and she tumbled down the dark staircase, her backpack flying free from her shoulder and tumbling down with her. She let out a groan of pain as she finally stopped tumbling. Evelyn blinked several times, hoping to get rid of the flouting dots that obscured her vision. After several moments of not being able to get rid of them, she felt herself falling into the welcoming embrace of unconsciousness as her bag landed beside her in the dark, the pouch containing the monitor peaking out.

Up in the camber she had just fallen from, the Hood motioned for Transom and Mullion to go after her. As they stepped forward, Yuja growled something in Egyptian to Saadia who in turn held up her hand. Transom and Mullion stopped in their tracks. "Let her go."

"You are the one that came up with this plan," Mullion growled as he stepped towards Saadia. "And now you want to abandon it?"

"Not abandon," she replied, her smirk returning. Mullion stopped in his tracks and winced as the Hood used his powers on the man. He glanced back at the Hood for a moment before looking back to Saadia, whose smirk had turned into a twisted smile. "I'm just suggesting that we go to plan 'B' since she knows what plan 'A' is."

* * *

As the darkness around Evelyn began to lift, she groaned as a shrill beeping sounded in the dark tunnel. She grimaced at the effect the sound had on her throbbing head. She felt the cool, musky air of the tunnel on her bare skin and shivered. She pried her eyes open and blinked several times as a small, flashing light came into focus beside her and lit the interior of her bag every time it flashed.

She gently pushed herself up into a sitting position, grimacing from the soreness of her limbs. She then reached over to the small pouch that held the monitor and withdrew the screen. The second button was flashing and when she pushed it, the worried face of her second eldest brother filled the screen, looking relived at the sight of her. "Evelyn!"

She grimaced at his yell and a guilty look formed on his face as he muttered an apology before asking softly, "Where are you?"

"Somewhere in the Palace," she replied as her mind began to clear as she glanced around the tunnel that had been slightly light by the screen. 

She looked back at the screen to see John looking at one of the other monitors before him up on Thunderbird Five. "Okay, I've got a lock on your monitor's signal Evie. Gordon will be getting to you real soon."

"You mean, they haven't been captured?" she asked.

"Captured?" John repeated, shaking his head. "No. They're fine. From what Scott has told me, only a few people are even conscious or alive. What happened?"

"It was a trap, John. All of it," she replied. "Dr. Ness was working for the Hood the entire time and he tricked me into reading an excerpt from the Book of the Dead and-" 

She was interrupted by the sound of the doorway above her being removed from its place and looked up to see flashlights pointing down at her. "Evelyn!"

"I wanna hear the rest of this once you get home Evie," John commented before the screen went black. Evelyn replaced it into the bag as two figures ran down the stairs towards her. 

The first of the two figures dropped to his knees beside her before pulling her into his arms. Evelyn's arms warped around her father tightly, the figure that had also come down the stairs kneeling down beside them.

Jeff released her after a few moments and held her at arm's length as he looked her over, though with the helmet on she couldn't that. "Are you alright?"

"I-I don't know," she replied softly, shaking her head. She felt a pair of arms warp around her from the side and leaned against what she knew without looking was her twin. 

Jeff reached up and brushed a piece of her now filthy hair out of her face as she continued to lean against Gordon. "Let's get you home."

"How many people are being taken to the hospital?" she asked as Gordon released her and both he and Jeff helped her to her feet. Gordon then bent down and grabbed her bag and slung it over his shoulder before returning to her side.

"Only seven were alive when we got here and two of them still conscious. The staff at Kasr El Aini Hospital will be waiting for us," Jeff replied as they began to make their way up the stairs with Evelyn between them, his arm around her shoulders. "Luckily several staff members speak English."

"Then I should accompany them to the hospital," Evelyn stated as they walked. Two head quickly turned towards her and she shook her head to keep her from interrupting. "Listen, if I disappear with you guys, people will be suspicious. I don't want our identities to be revealed because of me."

_Though because of the Hood, Kyleigh and Narmer now know,_ Evelyn thought as they reached the top of the stairs and stepped through the doorway into the room she had run from roughly an hour before. 

The bodies were still laying on the floor of the room though a few were missing. There was no evidence of the frogs and it seemed that her flashlight was also gone from where she had dropped.

She heard Gordon groan beside her and glanced over at him to see him hang his head in defeat. "I hate it when you're right."

"There's no convincing you otherwise is there?" Jeff asked, bringing the group to a halt as he looked down at his daughter though she could not see his face. Evelyn shook her head. "Then I will ride with Scott in Thunderbird One and as soon as we reach the island, I will come right back in Tracy One to get you."

"And I explain everything that has happened since last night when we get home," she added softly. 

_And explain how everything that has happened here is my fault_ , she thought grimly as the group began to move past the bodies and towards the now open doors that led to the main entrance of the Royal Palace.


	12. Trouble in Cairo

**Chapter Eleven- Trouble in Cairo**

Roughly half an hour after Thunderbird Two had dropped her off at El Aini Hospital in Cairo, Evelyn had been released and was taken to a hotel a block away to get cleaned up while she waited for her father to fly back in Tracy One to take her home. Luckily for her the only injuries she had sustained was a cut on her forehead along with a large bump on the back of her head, that along with the fact she was completely filthy led to her taking an nice, warm shower as soon as she was checked into the hotel. Though her clothes would still be dirty and torn in places seeing as the rest of the clothing she had brought with her was still in Amarna.

Once she was out of the shower and dried off, she took a bottle from the fully stocked refrigerator and sat down on in the middle of the bed. Setting the water bottle down in her lap, she reached underneath the neck of her shirt and pulled out the locket. A soft smile appeared on her face as she opened it and looked down at the picture of her and her brothers that had been taken five years prior on hers and Gordon's eighteenth birthday. After she stared at it for a few moments, she closed it once more and tucked it under her shirt.

_Maybe I should have gone home with them,_ she thought as she reached over to the nightstand beside the bed and grabbed the remote. As she pushed the button on the remote and the television flickered to life, she undid the cap on the bottle and took a sip of water from the bottle only to spit it back out seconds later, not caring at all that it got all over the screen of the television. As she gagged from the coppery taste that was now in her mouth, she lifted up the bottle to where it was eye level before her. Her green eyes widened at the red substance in the bottle before lowering it back down to her lap.

"I'm defiantly starting to think I'm going insane," she muttered to herself as pushed herself up off the bed, took the bottle into the bathroom and began to pour it down the sink. She then turned on the faucet to help wash it down only to gasp at the red substance that poured out of it. She quickly shut the faucet off, set the bottle on the bathroom counter and went back into the main room. She grabbed her bag from the nightstand and pulled out the pouch that protected the monitor. She needed to call John. Something really strange was going on.

Before she could push the second button to call her brother, a strange tremor shook the building. _What the?_ With the monitor in hand, she walked over to the door of the hotel room and pulled it open. Screams sounded in the air as hail and fire fell from the dark clouds over the city. She walked to the railing along the second floor hallway to see the plants in the courtyard had been set aflame and the beautiful fountain that had been in its center destroyed.

The water turned blood was spilt out into the courtyard, where people ran through it to escape the fire only to scream at the sight of all the blood that was around them. As she quickly began to walk down the hallway towards the nearest staircase, she lifted the monitor to eye level and pushed the second button as she walked.  
 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …**

Up on Thunderbird Five, John stood before the main counsel looking at the monitors all around him. He had just gotten a call from Egypt, luckily from someone who spoke English, shouting over the screams of panic behind him that the water had turned to blood and hail and fire was now falling from the sky in Cairo. Looking at the weather readout for that area, he noted the strange mass of clouds that had formed over the countries capital.

Just as he moved to contact his father and brother's and tell them that they had to turn back, one of the smaller monitors chimed, signaling an incoming call. He pushed the button to accept the call and within seconds the face of his sister appeared on the screen. John immediately became concerned at the look of panic on her face. "Evie, what's going on over there?"

"Tell them to come back John," she replied, glancing away from the screen for a moment as screams sounded around her. She grimaced at something off screen before looking back to her brother. "It's pure chaos here John. All water has turned to blood and fire is falling from the sky."

"I was actually just about to tell them to anyway," John explained. "Hang on a minute Evie."

"Okay," she answered with a nod. 

John moved to one of the larger monitors a few feet to his right that currently showed the positions of Thunderbirds One and Two on their way back to the island. He pressed the button to establish contact with them. "Thunderbird Five to Thunderbirds One and Two, do you copy?"

"Loud and clear," Virgil responded after a few seconds from Thunderbird Two while from Thunderbird One Jeff responded, "Go ahead John."

"Do you have the Firefly onboard Two?" John inquired.

"Yeah, " Gordon answered slowly. "Why?"

"You are needed in Cairo," he replied, glancing over at the screen that showed Evelyn a few feet away. "Something strange is going on over there. All water in that country has turned into blood and fire is falling from the sky in Cairo."

"Have you heard from Evelyn?" Jeff asked over the communication link. On the screen it showed Thunderbirds One and Two turning around and heading back the direction they had just come from.

"Just as I was about to call you actually," John replied. "Things ar-" 

He stopped as from the monitor that was showing Evelyn's face came a blood curdling scream. He moved away from the monitor showing the progress of Thunderbirds One and Two, ignoring the questions of concern coming from the connection and moved over to the one that he had been talking to Evelyn on. Her face was gone from the screen and instead he could only see her feet. "Evelyn! What happened?"  
 **... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... …**

When John disappeared from the screen, Evelyn continued walk quickly to the staircase a few feet away. She reached the stairs and began to hurry down them towards the courtyard, where while she had been talking to John someone had been bit by a fireball and had jumped into the blood to try and put out the fire that covered their body.

Glancing down at the screen to see that John had still not returned, she reached the bottom of the stairs. As she moved around the wall that separated the hallway to the rooms on the ground floor from the courtyard, she let out a bloodcurdling scream as she came face to face with Yuja.

" **Thank you for resurrecting me Henuttawy,"** he growled. As he stepped towards her, she stepped back towards the stairs a few feet behind her. 

From the screen that had dropped to her side when she reached the bottom of the stairs, she heard John yelling. "Evelyn! What happened?"

" **You are the reason I suffered** **the** **Hom-Dai,"** he began as he stepped towards her. Evelyn continued to move back towards the stairs behind her, the yells of her brother not being heard as she stared at Yuja in horror. **"Now, I will make you suffer as I did. Until like me, you are dead. But unlike me, there will be no way for anyone to resurrect you."**

" **I am not Henuttawy,"** she said, shaking her head as he continued to come closer. Her feet hit the bottom stair and she screamed as she fell onto the stairs behind her. The monitor in her hand landed face up next to her, giving John a view of Yuja as he continued to approach her as she now lay sprawled on the stairs. On the screen, John's blue eyes widened at the sight of Yuja walking towards his sister.

"HISS!"

Both Evelyn and Yuja looked over to the doorway of the nearest hotel room, whose door was wide open and golden tabby cat was standing there hissing at Yuja. The hair on the cat's back was on end and its tail puffed up as it hissed at the corpse. Yuja's undead eyes widen as he spots the cat. His decomposed mouth opens wider than humanly possible and he shrieked. Yuja spun around before turning into a cloud of sand as a harsh wind blew through the hallway. Evelyn closed her eyes and turned around towards the staircase to avoid getting sand into her eyes.

She sat there with her eyes squeezed shut for a few moments until John's yelling got her attention. She turned back around to see Yuja was no longer in sight. The fire and hail had stopped falling and the dark clouds had disappeared. The blood from the broken fountain in the courtyard was now nothing but steaming water. The cat now sat in the doorway, its fur still puffed up and now coated with sand. Evelyn swallowed. "Where is your owner? I want to kiss them for bringing you."

"Evelyn!" John yelled. Panting, Evelyn picked up the screen as she adjusted herself into a more comfortable position on the stairs. John was once more extremely pale as he looked at her in concern. "Are you alright?"

Evelyn shook her head. 

"I just want to go home," she replied softly as she looked down at the face of her brother.

"Hold on a second Evie," John said before disappeared from the screen again. She could hear him talking indistinctly and assumed that he was talking to the rest of their family. He reappeared a few moments later and gave her a small smile. "Good news. Thunderbird One has already landed in the hotel parking lot. Dad's on his way to find you right now and Thunderbird Two is landing in the hospital parking lot."

"Thank God," she muttered, leaning back on the stairs and closing her eyes. She didn't care right now if someone noticed her disappear into one of the 'birds, she just wanted to go home. Though in the current chaos that reigned in the city, it was doubtful that anyone would be paying that much attention to one young American. They would be too busy paying attention to themselves and their own families.

"Evie?" John asked after a few minutes. The screams in the courtyard around her diminished as people began to grab their things to leave, or go to the hospital a block away. Evelyn opened her eyes and raised the monitor back to eye level. "What was that thing?"

"That would be a mummy," she replied. "That I brought back to life when Ness tricked me into reading an excerpt from the Book of the Dead."

"I thought that's what I saw," he said quietly, mostly to himself then to her as he glanced away from the screen for a moment. He then looked back at her a moment later looking confused. "Wait. What do you mean you brought him to life?"

"I mean dad was right about Ness," she replied. She opened her mouth to continue but was cut off by the sound of quickly approaching footsteps, footsteps that sounded very familiar. "I'll talk to you later John."

"Okay," he answered. The screen went black as from around the wall separating the stairs from the courtyard the familiar figure of her father appeared. 

With the monitor in hand, she pushed herself up off the stairs as Jeff spotted her and took in her appearance from behind his helmet. Though it was clear she had just showered since her hair was still slightly damp, she was once more covered in a layer of dirt.

As soon as Jeff reached her, he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. Evelyn in turn wrapped her arms around him and hugged him just as tightly as she rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes, relishing in the warmth and feeling of protection she felt whenever she was in her father's arms.

As the two parted, Jeff placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her in concern, though at the moment she couldn't see his face. "Are you alright?"

Evelyn shook her head as she had a few minutes before when John had asked her the same question. 

"No," she muttered, looking down for a moment at the monitor in her hand before looking face up at the helmet that hide her father's face, in which she could see the pale and filthy reflection of herself staring back down at her. "You were right about Ness."

"We'll talk about that once we get home," he said softly, using a gloved hand to brush her damp and sand filled bangs off to the side. "Come on. Let's get you home, where you can get cleaned up and get something to eat."

"Okay," she answered. Keeping on hand on her shoulder, he began to lead them in the direction of the front of the hotel, outside of which Thunderbird One sat with mobile control set up not too far from it as they worked to put out the various fires that had started in the city. Evelyn's sense of guilt began to grow at the thought of all the damage caused and all the people hurt and killed by something she had brought back to life.


	13. Filling in the Blanks

**Chapter Twelve- Filling in the Blanks  
** **September 7** **th** **, 2024**

Not long after returning to the island found the Earthbound Tracy's in Jeff's office, while John listened in on one of the monitors. All of them were still dirty from the chaos they had helped to clean up in Cairo for none of them had yet to get cleaned up and change, though Onaha and Tin-Tin had dropped off a tray of muffins and glasses of water before heading back to bed. The Tracy patriarch sat in the chair before the desk while Scott was perched on the edge of the desk a few feet away. Virgil, Gordon, and Alan sat down on the couch in the room, all of them watching as Evelyn as she leaned against the mural.

"So this deal he made with the Hood and Saadia is the reason he invited you to Amarna in the first place?" Alan asked, summarizing all that she had told them so far into a single sentence. Evelyn heaved a heavy sigh and nodded, looking down at the floor underneath her feet.

From where he sat at the desk, Jeff heaved also heaved a sigh as he shook his head. "I knew there was something about that man I didn't like."

"If I had just come home when you sensed something was wrong with him," Evelyn paused, shaking her head and scoffing as she looked towards the ceiling. "None of this would have happened. Egypt wouldn't be in a state of panic, all those that are dead would still be alive, Kyleigh and Narmer wouldn't have been captured, and we wouldn't have a three-thousand-year-old corpse walking around that has a vendetta against me because he thinks I'm a reincarnated princess!"

When Evelyn was finished yelling, she leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, panting for her outburst. All but John looked at her incredulously. 

Virgil blinked a few times before asking, "What was that about a mummy?"

She opened her eyes and looked towards her younger brother as she pushed herself away from the wall. "The tablet that Ness had me read from," she began. "Was an excerpt from the Book of the Dead. So when I read it, I brought to life the corpse of Yuja."

"Yuja?" Scott repeated. "Wasn't he one of the guys in your dream?"

"Yes," Evelyn replied as she began to pace across the room. "Saadia walked up to him with no fear and he called her Meritaten, to which she replied that she is the women reincarnated and I have to say she does look like the women I saw in my dreams. And they both seem to think I am Henuttawy reincarnated."

"And Meritaten was the women that killed Henuttawy," Gordon stated, his green eyes going wide at what that would me if they thought she was the princess. "So…."

"They all want me dead," she finished softly, stopping where she stood in the middle of the room. The rest of the family paled at the thought of her being killed. "And Yuja wants me dead for he thinks I'm Henuttawy, and it was for his hand in her murder that he was subjected to the _Hom-Dai_."

Her green eyes widened at this revelation. _That's it! It explains everything! The locusts, the frogs, the blood to water and the fire and hail! Those that were subject to the Hom-Dai would bring with them the Ten Plagues of Egypt if awakened! And I just had to awaken one of the few that was! And then the chest. Oh, God. The chest! Please don't let Kyleigh and Narmer open that thing!_

"Evie?" Jeff asked, standing up out of the chair and walking over to where she stood, her green eyes wide as she stared into the air in front of her. Her brother's watched her curiously. At the sound of her name, Evelyn blinked and looked towards her father.

"I know why all the strange things have been happening in Egypt," she began, shaking her head as she mentally smacked herself for taking so long to realize it. "Yuja was subjected to the _Hom-Dai_ , the worst of all ancient Egyptian curses, one that is said to have never been used because they were so afraid of it. It is said that should the victim of the _Hom-Dai_ ever arise, he would bring with him the Ten Plagues of Egypt."

"The Ten Plagues?" Virgil repeated. "As in the Ten Plagues that imposed upon Egypt because the Pharaoh refused to let the Israelites go?"

"Yes, those Ten Plagues Virge," Evelyn sighed in exasperation, rolling her eyes in annoyance. Virgil flushed and looked down at the floor. Evelyn noticed this and opened her mouth to apologize for being moody but was cut off by Gordon.

"Well," Gordon began. _I'll apologize to him later,_ she thought as she shifted her gaze from Virgil to Gordon. All eyes in the room watched as he began ticking them off on his fingers as he named them. "We've so far seen locusts, frogs, blood to water…."

"And hail and fire," Evelyn finished for him, all eyes moving from her twin to look at her. "The ones we haven't gotten to are the sun turning black, boils and sores, Gnats, Lice or Fleas, disease killing all livestock and then the last and worst of them all, the death of all firstborn sons of Egypt. The plagues will only stop once he is fully regenerated."

"I know I am going to regret asking this but," said Alan, shaking his head and looking down for a moment before looking towards where his sister stood with their father beside her. "How does he get fully regenerated?"

"There is a chest in Amarna in the tomb where Ness found the tablet with the inscription on it," she began. "From what I figured out of the inscription on that chest is that in order for Yuja to fully regenerate, the chest needs to be opened. He will then kill all those that opened it and assimilate their organs and fluids."

The rest of her family paled further and looked slightly disgusted at the thought of this process. Over on the couch, Gordon gagged. 

Beside him, Alan nodded and looked down at the ground muttering, "I knew I would regret asking."

"Why did he run when he saw that cat at the hotel, Evie?" John asked from the monitor on the desk. 

Five heads turned to look at the monitor at this question before looking back at Evelyn with wide eyes, all of them quite a bit paler than they had been at the revelation that Evelyn had actually seen the mummy face to face at the hotel. Jeff turned back towards Evelyn and placed his hands on her shoulders as he looked down at her. "Did he hurt you?"

Evelyn shook her head as she looked up at her father. 

"He never got the chance too," she replied softly. Even though he had not gotten the chance to hurt her, he certainly scared her half to death."A cat entered the hallway at that moment and he fled at the sight of it, for cats are said to be the guardians of the underworld."

"He disappeared in a cloud of sand," John added. 

Scott glanced over at the image of his brother in the monitor. "You saw it?"

"Yes," John replied, nodding as five more faces turned to look at him. "Though from the angle the monitor was on, I wasn't able to see the cat but I did hear it hiss at him."

"If that cat hadn't of shown up," Evelyn began, shaking her head as she looked down. "The city probably would have been destroyed and I would most likely….."

She trailed off, not able to finish the sentence out loud, though she knew the rest of her family had finished it in their heads. Sure she was used to the prospect that something might happen to her on a rescue and she would die, but to actually think about dying now began to scare her. She didn't want to die. There was so much in life she had yet to experience and most of all, she didn't want to leave her family. They needed her just as much as she needed them. With any one of them gone, they would feel like an incomplete puzzle with a piece missing.

Jeff pulled her into a tight embrace, resting his chin on the top of her head and closed his eyes, thinking about how close he had come to losing her. Evelyn, in turn, wrapped her arms tightly around her father and closed her eyes as she pressed her face into her father's chest. After a few moments, Jeff opened his eyes and glanced around the room at his Earthbound sons. He removed one of his arms from around Evelyn, who looked up at him in confusion for a moment before smiling when she realized what he was doing.

Jeff extended the opened arm towards his sons, who quickly stood from where they were sitting and walked over to their father and Evelyn. 

On the screen, John smiled fondly at the group hug that his family was currently in, part of him wishing he was down with them to enjoy it too. "I'll talk to you guys later."

Jeff looked up from the group hug around him and smiled at the face of his second eldest son on the monitor. "Talk to you in the morning John."

Gordon, whose arms was one arm was wrapped around the shoulders of his twin while the other his younger brother, glanced over at the clock on the desk before smirking at his father. "It _is_ morning dad."

His brothers rolled groaned and rolled their eyes as Evelyn removed one arm from around her twin and smacked him upside the dead. Gordon exclaimed and glared at his twin beside him. 

On the screen, John shook his head and muttered a quick good night before the connection was cut and the monitor went black. Jeff chuckled as the twins glared at each other for a few moments before Gordon once more wrapped his arm around his sister. Evelyn's glare disappeared as she leaned her head on her twin's shoulder and closed her eyes, smiling on content.

* * *

Just outside the buried ruins of Hamunaptra, disguised as one of the many digs that the late George Carnarvon financed before his death, was where Adrien Ness could be found in the company of the Hood's lackey's Transom and Mullion. He walked into one of the many tents that had been erected on the outskirts of the buried city, having been told to by the Hood and Saadia.

With the way that the two had taken control of the plans that Adrien had helped to concoct and conceal, Adrien found them to be his enemies. And they knew it too, which was why they had asked him to be in this tent with Transom and Mullion, though Adrien did not yet know why he had been told to come here. He saw the chest from Henuttawy's tomb sitting on the rug in the middle of the empty tent. 

His narrowed his eyes on Mullion and growled. "What is this chest doing here?"

"How should I know," Mullion growled, stepping towards the Egyptologist and towering over him. "I'm lower on the chain of command then you are."

"Don't remind me," Adrien muttered, rolling his gray eyes and stepping away from the man. He then looked towards Transom. "And I doubt that you know what the hell they want us here for."

"You were called to open the chest," called Saadia from just outside the flaps of the tent. Adrien looked incredulously in the direction her voice had come from.

"Are you mad?!" he yelled back to her. He knew about the curse and what would happen to those that opened the chest. Like hell he was going to do it voluntarily. "The only way I am going to open that chest is if you force me."

Where he stood outside the tent beside Saadia and Yuja, the Hood smirked. 

"That can be arranged," he replied just barely loud enough for Adrien to hear him. Saadia smiled and Yuja grinned in anticipation, both knowing what would come next. The Hood's smirk turned into a twisted smile as his eyes turned blood red and his pupils turned to slits like that of a cat.

Inside the tent, Adrien found himself move forward towards the chest against his will. Mullion and Transom stood a few feet to the side and watched on, wondering why he was being forced to open the chest. And why he was so afraid of what would happen when he did. 

He was forced to drop to his knees beside it. His arms shook as he desperately tried to keep them from reaching forward to open the chest. He screamed as pain ripped through his skull and his hands pulled open the chest. When opened, a cloud of thick black dust poured out of it making it impossible to see.

As the dust began to disappear, Adrien shook his head as he muttered, "No..."

"What was that?" Transom asked, stepping forward to look into the chest. She waved her hand through the dust to see four canopic jars. She reached in to grab one only for Adrien to slap her hand away. She glared at Adrien, though it faded after a few moments when she looked over his shoulder. Adrien frowned in confusion before glancing over his shoulder, his expression quickly turning to one of horror when he spotted Yuja grinning.

As the screams of Adrien, Transom, and Mullion echoed into the night, the Hood and Saadia stood smiling outside of the tent. Neither of the grimaced, or even paid any mind to the horrible sounds issuing from within the tent. With those three gone, who were beginning to always question their orders, out of the way, the plan for the downfall of the Tracy family could move forward quickly and smoothly. 

After a few minutes of nonstop screaming, the tall figure of a man stepped out of the tent, his shaved head shined in the light coming from nearby lanterns and his skin had a healthy tan. Yuja had regenerated using the organs and bodily fluids of those who had been inside the tent and was now invincible. No more cats would scare him. The only thing that could possibly kill him was the golden Book of Amun-Ra.


	14. I Was Played Like a Violin

  **Chapter Thirteen- I Was Played Like a Violin**

After cleaning up and sleeping for a good seven hours, the residents of Tracy Island found themselves waking just before noon. There was no point to having breakfast, seeing as it would soon be time for lunch and most settled for one of the muffins left over from the night before. 

So this was how Evelyn, with a muffin in hand, found herself walking down the stairs towards the second floor after looking for Virgil in his room, only to find him not there.

Taking a bite of the muffin, she headed down the hallway towards the music room, hoping her older brother would be in there. The door was cracked open and she could her quiet mutterings coming from inside. Quietly pushing the door open, she smiled fondly when she spotted her brother sitting at his piano, a sheet of music before him and a pencil between his teeth as he looked over the markings he had made on the paper before him.

She closed the door softly behind her, watching as Virgil removed the pencil from between his teeth and added a marking to the paper, muttering under his breath. Evelyn gave a soft chuckle and began to walk towards her brother. "Having trouble, Mozart?"

Virgil jumped slightly at the sound of her voice, the pencil falling from his hand and down onto the keys as he looked towards her in surprise. Evelyn grimaced and mumbled an apology as he picked up the pencil and set it down in the grove beside the sheet music. Instead of looking back towards her, he continued to look at the sheet music in front of him. Evelyn sighed, looking down and playing with her hands in front of her as she spoke. 

"Look, Virge, about last night," she paused. "Well, this morning actually as my oh so brilliant twin pointed out."

She glanced up to see the corner's of Virgil's mouth twitch at the mention of the comment made by her twin earlier that morning, though his small smile only severed to make her feel even guiltier for having had gotten easily annoyed with him. 

"Anyway, the point is Virge, I'm sorry for getting annoyed with you this morning," she began. "This-I-I'm scared beyond belief a-and guilty as hell. It's my fault this guy is alive and Egypt is in panic. And that Kyleigh and Narmer are missing. I should have known something was up the moment he asked me to read it out loud but no, I was as blind as a bat and allowed him to play me like a freakin' violin! And to top it all off, you can't kill the guy! He's freakin' immortal! And-"

Virgil, who had been watching as Evelyn began to pace back and forth as she vented, stood from the piano bench as her breathing became erratic and her voice began to sound panicked. He grabbed both her arms to stop her and looked at her in concern. "Breathe Evie, breathe."

"-I have no idea-"

"Evie," he repeated as she continued to ramble, looking up over his shoulder and staring into the air behind him.

"-how to ki-"

"Evie!" he shouted, releasing his grip on one of her arms and gently grabbing her chin. The combination of this action and his shout got her to stop and look at him. Still holding her chin, he looked her in the eyes, his face serious. "None of this is your fault. They played off your excitement at being there and used that to block any suspicions you could have had. But it is in no way your fault. If anyone, blame the Hood and Saadia. Now take a deep death through your nose and then release it slowly through your mouth."

She opened her mouth to say that she was fine but at the stern look on Virgil's face, she closed it and swallowed the retort. She sucked in a deep breath through her nose as he told her too and closed her eyes and she slowly released it, feeling herself beginning to relax. He was right, as usual. Both in telling her to breathe and the fact that what had happened was not her fault.

Virgil released her chin and in turn pushed a piece of fallen copper hair back behind her ear. He then returned his hand to its original place on her arm. 

"And if there is a way to kill this guy, you won't have to look for it alone," he stated. Evelyn opened her eyes and looked at him, a fond smile forming on her lips, a smile that Virgil returned. "We're a family, and we're in this together. We'll do whatever we can to help you find a way to get rid of him Evie, and you don't even have to ask for our help."

She smiled at him for a moment before letting his hands fall from her arms as she wrapped them around him and hugged him tightly. As his own wrapped around her, she whispered, "Thanks, Virgil."

* * *

Not long after lunch, Virgil and Evelyn went up to her room to begin searching for some way to get rid of Yuja, both figuring that if the ancient Egyptians had found a way to bring someone back from the dead then they should also have found a way for the undead immortal to be sent back and hopefully this time stay dead. 

Evelyn sat at her desk, her computer in front of her with Evelyn O'Connell's _The Mummy_ in her hands while Virgil stood at her shoulder.

"What does that book have to do with finding a way to get rid of Yuja?" Virgil asked as she flipped to the rear of the book, her green eyes scanning the pages in search of one specific passage.

"Because, what happened back in Egypt was exactly what happened in this book," she explain, her eyes not leaving the page before her. "And her author's bio stated that it was often said these novels were based on her own adventures in Egypt, so they may actually be true. The way they raised the mummy was with the Book of the Dead, so if that does exist and all the things that have happened in this book are true…"

"Then maybe they way they killed him is also true," he finished as she trailed off when she stopped on a certain page and began to scan it with her finger.

"Exactly," she muttered. Her finger stopped on the conversation between the character's Scarlett and the curator of the museum. "'Scarlett began, 'I'm thinking that if the black Book of the Dead can bring people back to life' 'Then perhaps, the golden Book of the Living can return to the underworld,' the curator finished'."

"Book of the Living?" Virgil repeated as Evelyn sat down the book on her desk and focused on the computer. Just as she opened her mouth to reply to Virgil, a knock sounded at the door of her bedroom.

"Come in!" she called, glancing away from the computer to see who it was. Alan pushed open the door and entered the room, smiling as he carried three pints of ice cream in his hand.

"I come bearing gifts," he joked as he shut the door behind him and walked over to the desk. He handed one pint to Virgil and another to Evelyn before handing them spoons. "What are you guys doing?"

"Working on finding a way to get rid of Yuja," Virgil answered as Alan went to stand over Evelyn's other shoulder, both of the brothers taking a spoonful of ice cream. On the computer, Evelyn had searched for anything on the Book of the Living.

As the web page loaded on the screen, Evelyn read it out loud as she opened her own pint of ice cream. "'The Book of the Living, more commonly known as the golden Book of Amun-Ra, is said to be the opposite of the legendary black Book of the Dead. For while the black book is said to bring the deceased back to life, the golden book is said to be able to send them back to the underworld. It is unknown if either book exists, though there are some who say they do, one of them being Alexander O'Connell, son of world renowned author Evelyn O'Connell, who currently lives in Bethlem Royal Hospital in Kent.'"

As Evelyn clicked on the name 'Alexander O'Connell', she took a bite of ice cream before looking over at her brothers. "Well, we already know that the Book of the Dead exists. The tablet that Ness tricked me into reading was an excerpt from it. So the Book of Amun-Ra must exist, we just have to find it."

"But where could it possibly be?" Alan asked as Evelyn turned back to the computer screen.

"In the book, it is said that they are both hidden at Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead," she explained as she strolled down the page, past a picture of young Alexander O'Connell and began to read his bio. "And if the books Evelyn wrote were true, which I am seriously beginning to think they are, then the city was destroyed and the book lost to the sand of the Sahara. But maybe we could find the city and dig it out, just as the mummy was unburied in the second book she wrote along with the Book of the Dead."

"And he may know how to find the city," Virgil stated as he too began to read the bio for this man, Alan doing the same on the other side of Evelyn. 

Evelyn nodded as she strolled down the page to his more recent history. "We need to know where he is and talk to him."

"'Alex was sent to the Bethlem Royal Hospital after receiving the news that his daughter Lucille had been killed in the disastrous avalanche in Engadine Valley, Switzerland in 2010 when he began to claim that the books that his mother had written in the 1940's were true. The death of his daughter was said to be the last straw of his sanity which had begun to break in 1997 after the passing of his wife Lin. Though it was often said that the characters in her books were based on herself and her family and the stories were based on her own adventures in Egypt and China, the idea was never confirmed,'" Evelyn read. She clicked on the name Lucille and waited for the page to load.

"It couldn't be," Virgil muttered, setting down his ice cream on the desk as the page loaded. Once it was, they were greeted by the smiling face of their mother when she was roughly twenty years old. The headline of the page was 'Lucille Elizabeth Tracy, Née O'Connell.'

"It is. It's mom," Evelyn muttered as the three of them simply stared at the picture of their mother. "Then that means, the great grandmother I'm named after is Evelyn O'Connell."

"Go back to the page about Alex, Evie," Virgil instructed. 

Evelyn went back and after a few seconds the page loaded and the picture of thirty-year-old Alexander O'Connell appeared on the screen, looking very similar in appearance to their blond older brother. 

Before any more could be said, the rescue alarm sounded. Setting down the ice cream on the desk and closing the computer, the three siblings ran out of the room and towards their father's office.

 


	15. Egypt Again

**Chapter Fourteen- Egypt Again**

Virgil, Alan, and Evelyn ran into their father's office as it completed its transformation into Command and Control. Their father stood before the desk, looking at the image of John on one of the many monitors in the room. 

As Virgil, Alan, and Evelyn moved towards the computers to stand behind their father, Scott and Gordon ran into the room with Brains, Fermat, and Tin-Tin a few seconds behind them.

"You'll never guess where this one is," John stated as the group reached the monitors and Brains sat down in the chair in front of them. 

All those in the room knew exactly where he was talking about, for they had already been there twice in the last twenty-four hours. Evelyn paled at the thought of going back to that country and possibly facing Yuja again, along with the fact that the possibilities of living through a third encounter with him were very slim.

"You have got to be kidding me," Gordon sighed in exasperation, closing his eyes and leaning his head back for a moment. He then opened his eyes and looked towards his brother on the screen. "Egypt again?"

"Egypt again," John repeated with a small nod, who looked towards his youngest sibling as he began to speak.

"No offense, Evie," Alan began, looking over to his sister where she stood between him and Gordon behind their father. "But I am really beginning to hate that country."

"I'm getting a little sick of it myself sprout," she replied softly. Gordon wrapped an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against her twin as they looked at the screen. 

Jeff glanced over his shoulder at the two and smiled sadly at the comforting action Gordon had taken and at how pale Evelyn had become at the mere mention of the country that she had once been fascinated with, before heaving a heavy sigh while running a hand through his hair and looking towards his second eldest son on the screen. "What's the situation, John?"

"He wasn't able to speak much English, but he was yelling something about a dig collapsing with five or six people inside. Where they are, it would take Egyptian rescue crews roughly ten hours to get there from Cairo," John explained. "Though why they were digging in the middle of the night, I have no idea."

"FAB John. We're on our way," Jeff replied before turning away from the screen and to the group that stood behind him. 

Evelyn lifted her head from her twin's shoulder and Gordon removed his arm from around his twin as Jeff glanced at the group around him, his expression determined. "Scott, you're in One. Virgil, Gordon, Alan, you're with me in Two."

"What about me?" Evelyn asked as her brothers began to move to their respective portraits, which had slid up to expose the lifts down to the silos. 

Jeff stepped forward, the expression of determination quickly turning to one of concern as he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked down at his daughter. She looked up at him with a slight frown, though the fact she was still quite pale made him sure that he was doing the right thing, both for Evelyn's safety and for Jeff's peace of mind. "I want you to stay here Evie."

She opened her mouth to retort but Jeff quickly cut her off. 

"After all that has happened the past few days, I would feel better if you stayed here," he said softly, placing a hand on her cheek as he looked down at her. "Please Evelyn? For me?"

Evelyn closed her eyes and swallowed the growing lump in her throat, before nodding. 

"Okay. I'll stay," she mumbled as she opened her eyes and looked up at her father.

"Thank you," Jeff whispered. He then pressed a kiss to her forehead before heading over to his own portrait. 

"Thunderbirds are go," he stated, and the portraits slid down as the lifts were activated.

Evelyn then walked back to the desk to stand beside Brains. Tin-Tin placed her hand on the elder girl's shoulder and gave her a soft smile. Evelyn glanced over at her and returned the smile; though no amount of comfort from her friend could not get rid of the nagging feeling that something horrible was going to happen was going to happen to her family as she watched the readouts for Thunderbirds One and Two appear on two of the screens.

* * *

"I'm at the dig site," Scott stated over the communication link. Jeff sat in the main pilot's seat in Thunderbird Two, while on either side of him Virgil and Gordon acted as co-pilots with Alan sitting in one of the seats behind them.

"FAB Scott. ETA fifteen minutes," Virgil stated.

"What can you see?" Jeff asked.

"A bunch of destroyed tents along with a multitude of bodies scattered around the area that I am assuming is the dig," Scott replied. All those in Thunderbird Two frowned. What in the world was going on in this country?

"Any sign of those who called for help?" Jeff asked, pushing Thunderbird Two a little faster. Something about this didn't sound right and he felt the concern for his eldest son's safety rise.

"Nothing," Scott answered after a few seconds."The only thing I even see alive is a bunch of camels. No people, no lights, nothing."

"ETA eight minutes," Virgil stated, looking over at his father in the pilot's seat. "I don't like the sound of this, dad."

"Neither do I, Virgil," Jeff replied, glancing over at his middle son before looking out the front window of Thunderbird Two.

"Most of the dead are dressed the same," Scott stated. "All black and they have strange markings tattoo-"

"Scott?" Jeff asked, his heartbeat beginning to quicken at the lack of response from his eldest son. Nothing but silence was heard through the communication's system. "Scott, can you hear me?"

Once again, silence filled the command deck of Thunderbird Two, the hearts of all those on board the craft thudding loudly in their chests at the lack of response from Scott. Gordon glanced over at Virgil, both of them pale and worried. Virgil caught Gordon's eye for a moment before he looked to one of the monitors before him. 

"ETA two minutes," he stated, looking up from the monitor and towards his father, who had gone paler than any of them.

"Thunderbird Two to Thunderbird Five," Jeff stated. "John, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear Thunderbird Two," John responded after a few seconds. One of the screens in front of Jeff activated to show the face of his second eldest son onboard Thunderbird Five, who quickly became concerned at the pale and worried face of his father. "What is it?"

"John, I need you to locate Scott," Jeff instructed as the lights of Thunderbird Two reflected off the silver exterior of Thunderbird One a short distance away as the great green craft came in for a landing. On the screen, John's eyebrow's furrowed together. "Something's happened and we've lost contact with him."

"On it," John replied, disappearing from the screen and leaving it to show Thunderbird Five's control room. The command deck was silent as Thunderbird Two landed beside its counterpart, the occupants of the craft waiting for an answer from John. 

John reappeared a few moments later, now as pale as the rest of his family and just as worried for his elder brother. "Dad, his signal is gone. The signal from his pin is gone."

Jeff paled and the concern he felt for his eldest son quadrupled. The only way the signal from the pin could be lost was if the pin was destroyed. And the only way that would happen is if something had destroyed Scott and the pin along with him, or someone had taken it off his uniform and destroyed it. Though for the latter to happen, they would have to knock him unconscious if they wanted to even get near the pin. And whoever had touched his son would regret it.

"John, contact the island and tell them what's going on," Jeff stated as he stood from the pilot's seat. On the screen, John nodded before once more disappearing from the screen. Jeff then looked to his three sons with him. "Let's go find your brother."

Virgil, Gordon, and Alan nodded, their expressions determined as they followed their father's lead and stood from their seats. As they turned away from the screen, none of them noticed that it had begun to flicker before going completely black and the audio connection between them, Thunderbird Five, and Tracy Island was no longer working.

With Jeff in the lead, the four men began to make their way out of the command deck, only to stop when an unfamiliar figure stepped into the doorway. His shaved head reflected in the lights as he stepped forward, a smirk on his face. Jeff immediately stood between his son's and the muscular man before him, their eyes wide as watched the figure Evelyn had seen in her dreams stepping towards them.

They knew exactly who stood in front of them, and Jeff remembered the words that Evelyn had spoken early that morning after Alan had asked how a mummy would regenerate; _h_ _e will then kill all those that opened it and_ _a_ _ssimilate their organs and fluids._  

Who had they forced into opening the chest? Or did whoever it was that opened it not know what grim fate would fall upon them for doing so?

" **So, you are the family Henuttawy has been born to in this life,"** Yuja began as he stepped towards the four men, his dark eyes taking in the appearance one by one. Jeff now glared at the man in front of him, as did his son's behind him. Gordon swallowed when Yuja's gaze lingered on him and the smirk on his face widened. **"And she also has a twin in this life. Yes, you will be very useful to me."**

Yuja then brought up his fist and uncurled it for them to see Scott's International Rescue pin sitting in his palm, or at least the remains of the pin as they were now able to see the fried circuitry that was inside of it. 

Though the four Tracy men could not understand what he had said, they knew that Yuja now had what he wanted. He wanted to use them as bait to draw Evelyn to them and ultimately, to her death.


	16. Lost Signals

**Chapter Fifteen- Lost Signals**

The only time that Evelyn left Command and Control after her family left for Egypt was to put the three pints of ice cream in the freezer before they melted and became soup all over her desk and computer. She now stood a few feet away from the desk with Fermat and Tin-Tin in front of her, her eyes closed as she tuned out all sounds in the room and took a deep breath through her nose as she had that morning with Virgil. She then opened her eyes as she released it through her mouth, feeling slightly calmer then she had been feeling moments before. Though the feeling in the pit of her stomach that something horrible was going to happen would not leave her.

"Thunderbird Five to base," John stated, his image appearing on one of the screens after a few seconds. Once more he was extremely pale, a look of panic on his features. Evelyn quickly walked over to the monitor and stood before it, Tin-Tin and Fermat at her shoulders and looked at her brother in concern. "Scott's gone."

"What!" Evelyn cried, her heart beginning to beat wildly in her chest. "What happened?"

"When Thunderbird Two lost contact with him, dad asked me to trace the signal on his pin," John explained. "And his signal is gone." 

He glanced away from the monitor for a second and Evelyn watched as he lost the little remaining color he had before turning back to the screen. "Now their signals are gone too."

"I-I've l-lost contact with them as well," Brains added from where he sat. The screen that had previously been showing the desert landscape lit by the exterior lights on Thunderbird Two was now nothing but static. 

Evelyn lost all color as she looked away from the engineer and towards her brother on the screen, both of their expressions pure panic. Behind her, Tin-Tin and Fermat had also gone pale and looked worried for their best friend and his family.

She sucked in a breath and closed her eyes as a familiar feeling washed over her, a feeling that she had never liked and luckily didn't feel it very often. The last time she had felt it had been when Gordon had been in his accident, though she hadn't known what had happened to him until her father called a few minutes later and told her what had happened. 

She swallowed the lump in her throat as she opened her eyes. The Hood had gotten what he wanted, he now had her family. He had messed with her family for the last time. And Yuja and Saadia knew that she would come for them, which was exactly what they wanted.

"I'm going over there," she stated firmly, her expression changing from panicked to determined. All this was her fault, and it was up to her to fix it. "I'll take Thunderbird Three over there."

Tin-Tin glanced over at Fermat beside her, who nodded. "We're going too. You're going to need a co-pilot and someone to bring One and Two back."

"And you are going to have to stop up here before going there Evelyn," John stated. His expression had also become one of determination. "I'll send out the pre-programmed message that International Rescue has temporarily shut down. None of us are going to be able to concentrate on a rescue with them missing."

"You're right," Evelyn replied with a slight nod. "We're on our way."

"FAB Evie," John stated before cutting the screen went black as he cut the connection.

* * *

Not long after being handcuffed, their headsets and pins taken away and destroyed in front of them, and forced off Thunderbird Two, Jeff, Virgil, Gordon, and Alan found themselves shoved down to the ground beside an unconscious Scott. Two unfamiliar people, a male and a female sat beside the unconscious Tracy son and had been looking at him in concern. Both crawled back when the family was pushed down beside them.

As large guards circled around the group, Jeff immediately went to Scott, whose helmet was long gone and he had a slow bleeding cut just below the hairline on his forehead along with a large, dark bruise. Virgil, Gordon, and Alan knelt behind him as they looked down at their older brother. 

The women studied them for a few moments before stating, "You're the Thunderbirds. You're Evelyn's family."

Jeff looked away from the face of his eldest son and to the women. "Yes. You must be Kyleigh and Narmer."

"That we are," the man replied. He then looked down at Scott and smiled grimly. "He should be up soon. They tasered him and removed his helmet before smacking him in the face with a shovel."

"That explains the bruise," Virgil muttered, feeling anger bubble up within him at the thought of whoever had done this to his brother and was sure the rest of his family felt the same. Before any more could be said, Scott shifted and let out a groan. Jeff took his eldest son's hand as Scott grimaced and brushed a few stray hairs away from his forehead.

"Scott? Scott, can you hear me?" he called softly. Slowly the young man's eyes opened and looked groggily up at his father.

"Dad?" he asked, blinking several times as the area around him came into focus.

Jeff smiled fondly down at him, giving him a moment to get his bearings before asking, "How're you feeling?"

"Like Thunderbird Two just landed on me multiple times," he mumbled in reply. Jeff smiled down at his eldest son as his brother's behind him chuckled. 

A familiar chuckle, one that they certainly did not like joined theirs. The family glanced up to see the Hood chuckling as he walked towards them Yuja and Saadia a few steps behind him. "I see sleeping beauty has awoken."

As Jeff stood up, Virgil took his place by Scott and helped his older brother sit up to see what was happening. The Hood stepped past the circle of guards around the group and smirked at the glaring Tracy patriarch. "Hello, again Jeff."

Jeff growled and stepped towards the Hood. "Why you good for nothing, son of a-"

Saadia smirked as she stepped around the Hood, her dark eyes flickering to Jeff's shocked sons behind him before resting on Jeff. 

"I would not do that Mr. Tracy," she stated smoothly. 

He stopped misstep and looked towards her, still glaring. Her eyes then flickered to the guard nearest his sons. Following her gaze, Jeff's eyes landed on the knife that the man was pulling out of his belt as he stepped towards Scott and Virgil. Saadia's smirk turned into a smile as the glare disappeared and he lost all color at the sight of the knife.

She snapped her fingers and the guard stopped and returned to knife to his belt, backing up to where he had been standing moments before. Jeff slowly turned around to face her. 

Saadia continued to smile at him. "You see Mr. Tracy, we may be keeping you alive right now, but alive and unharmed are two different things. And I have no problem ordering the guards to harm you and your sons if you don't learn your place."

Jeff stepped back, away from the Hood and Saadia. Saadia's smiled widened and she looked towards the guard that stood closest to Gordon. She caught his eye and gave him a small nod. As he stepped towards Gordon, Saadia gaze returned to Jeff. "And just to give you a taste of what may come should you not cooperate."

She smiled as the man kicked the twin of her reincarnated enemy in the side, causing him to grunt in pain and wrap his arms around his abdomen. The eyes of his family widened. "And that was mild compared to what could happen if you don't learn your place."

Scott pushed himself away from Virgil and crawled over to where Gordon lay and helped him sit up, glaring over his younger brothers head at the man who at hurt him, but knowing that if he did anything to retaliate it would only cause his family pain. They were trapped, with no way to fight back.

" **My lord!"**

With one last smirk in Jeff's direction, Saadia and the Hood walked back past the guards to where Yuja stood waiting for the running messenger to arrive a few yards away. The young man stopped a few feet away from him and leaned forward on his knees to catch his breath. **"My lord, we have just received word that the Medjai and riding our way. They are roughly two hours east of here."**

Yuja growled, clenching his fists. **"Prepare to leave."**

As soon as Saadia and the Hood had left the vicinity of his family, Jeff walked back and collapsed into the sand beside his sons, his breathing ragged and his heart pounding in his chest. 

Alan, who was closest to where Jeff now sat, moved over and wrapped his arm around his father as he looked at him in concern. Jeff smiled gratefully at his youngest son and wrapped an arm around his shoulder's, looking towards Gordon as he leaned against Scott, who in turn was leaning against Virgil. "Are you alright?"

"I've had worse," he panted. He then closed his eyes and leaned his head on Scott's shoulder as he panted.

A few feet away, Kyleigh smiled sadly at the family of the young women she had begun to call her friend within the short time she had known her. They way that the family had been threatened was sickening. 

She then looked to Narmer beside her and saw him looking towards where the Hood, Saadia, and Yuja stood talking to the messenger in Egyptian, his eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She gently took his hand in hers as she looked up at him curiously. "Narmer?"

"Help is coming," he whispered, glancing away from where their oppressors stood and towards Kyleigh A gentle smile graced his features as he looked at her, tucking a piece of her strawberry blond hair behind her ear. "Medjai are roughly an two hours east of here."

* * *

"W-w-we're locked on," Fermat stated, her and Tin-Tin staying in their seats as Evelyn undid the fastens of the safety harness. 

As Evelyn stood from the seat and headed towards the hatch, Tin-Tin glanced over at the older girl from where she still sat in her seat before looking towards Fermat. The two friends smiled sadly at each other.

Evelyn entered the access code and the hatch opened with a click. She looked back towards Tin-Tin and Fermat and gave them a small smile. "I'll be back in a minute."

Not waiting for an answer, Evelyn stepped through the hatch and secured it closed behind her. She then quickly walked down the docking tunnel towards the access panel to open the hatch to Thunderbird Five. 

Before she could enter the code, the hatch connecting the tunnel to space station opened with a 'hiss' and swung open to reveal John standing there waiting for her with his bag in hand.

Once the hatch was closed behind him, he set his bag down on the floor and pulled his sister into a tight embrace. Evelyn quickly returned it, closing her eyes as she buried her face in his shoulder. John rested his chin on top of her head and closed his eyes while he rubbed soothing circles on her back. At the moment, the gesture helped him as much as it helped her.

"We'll find them, Evie," he said softly, opening his eyes and looking down at his sister. She removed her face from his shoulder and looked up at him, her eyes showing the fear that they both felt for their family.

"I know," she replied with a slight nod. The fear disappeared from her eyes and was replaced with determination. "They are going to be sorry they ever messed with the Tracy family."


	17. The City of the Dead

**Chapter Sixteen- The City of the Dead  
** **September 8** **th** **, 2024**

Evelyn glanced around the area as she stood beside Thunderbird Three, waiting for John, Fermat, and Tin-Tin. None of them wore helmets, seeing as they were in the middle of the Sahara and the nearest town was at least a day away by aircraft. 

The sun was just rising in the east, throwing the few ruins that were peeking out of the sand into shadow and giving the place the feeling that something was hidden beneath them, and that it was nothing good.

Thunderbirds One and Two were off to her left and between them and the ruins was a multitude of tents that had been slashed to pieces with only one or two still partly standing. Within the ruins were piles of dirt around a large, deep pit and several shovels lie in the sand.

"Any idea where we are?" John asked as he walked up and stood beside her, his blue eyes scanning the landscape around them.

"No idea," she shook her head. "None of the maps I've seen have shown any city, ancient or modern, in this area."

"So what do we do?" asked Tin-Tin as she and Fermat came up on either side of the two siblings.

"Look around and see what we can find anything that can give us a clue as to what happened here," Evelyn explained, glancing over at the two family friends. She then looked to John beside her. "Or find something that can give us a clue as to where they are now, besides the footage from the exterior cameras."

John looked over at Evelyn beside him and nodded, his expression neutral. Without another word, the four of them headed off in separate directions. Evelyn walked towards the ruins, hoping that they might give her a clue as to where exactly they were. 

As she knelt down beside a small, crumbling wall that was peeking out of the sand around the ruins. Evelyn sucked in a deep breath and blew the sand off of a set of faded carvings on the wall. Her eyebrow's furrowed as she struggled to read the writing for a few moments. 

"Hamunaptra," she gasped. Before she would read the carvings beneath it, a piercing scream met the air.

"Tin-Tin, what happened?" Evelyn heard John ask through the headsets the four of them wore as she pushed herself away from the wall and began to run in the direction the scream had come from.

"I-It's-I," she began but broke off with a gasp. Evelyn quickened her pace towards the single, fully standing when she saw Fermat enter the tent. Glancing to her right, Evelyn saw John also approaching the tent.

"Three c-c-c-bodies," Fermat stated a few seconds after he entered the tent. Her heart skipping a beat in her chest, Evelyn ran the rest of the way to the tent and arrived a few seconds behind John. As soon as the two siblings entered the tent, it was obvious why Tin-Tin had screamed.

What was left of three bodies were scattered around the tent, half the size they had been in life. They were shriveled up, drained of all organs and liquids and all three held expressions of horror on their faces. As Fermat wrapped an arm around a wide-eyed Tin-Tin, John and Evelyn stepped forward and knelt down to examine the nearest corpse.

The body was obviously female, with faded red hair and a large overbite visible from her mouth, which was opened in a silent scream. 

_Where have I seen her before?_ Evelyn thought as she looked away from the corpse and to the one laying a few feet away. He had obviously been very large and muscular during life and he too looked familiar to Evelyn. Glancing to the final corpse, Evelyn's eyes widened in recognition at the horror-filled face of the corpse. 

"Ness," she muttered.

"What?" John asked, likened up from the corpse of the women and towards his sister.

Evelyn pointed to the third corpse. 

"That one is Ness," she stated, before looking down at the one she was beside, the identity of her and the other man becoming obvious. "This is Transom and Mullion."

Tin-Tin and Fermat moved away from the entrance to the tent to stand beside her as they looked down at the women. After a few seconds, their eyes widened in recognition at the two people they had encountered four years prior. Looking at the three corpses, Tin-Tin asked, "What happened to them?"

Evelyn began to shake her head as she stood up, only for her eyes to land on a familiar chest sitting off to the side of the tent. 

"He's regenerated," Evelyn stated softly, shaking her head sadly at the thought of what had been the fate of these three people. Though she had not liked them as two of them had tried to kill her family and the one had tricked her, she did not like the way that they had died.

John followed her gaze and saw the box before looking back towards Evelyn. "That's the box you saw in Amarna?"

"Yes," she nodded, looking away from the chest and towards her brother. "The reason they look like this is because Yuja assimilated their organs and fluids. The only thing that can kill him now is the golden book of Amun-Ra."

"Amun Ra?" John repeated as he stood from where he had been kneeling beside the corpse. 

Evelyn opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by the whinnying of a horse coming from outside the tent. Glancing around at each other and frowning in confusion, the group exited the tent only to stop still at what awaited them outside.

A group of twenty men garbed in black stood before them, their horses visible behind them. Only their eyes were visible and those in front held unsheathed sabers towards of the men in the front stepped forward, his dark eyes scanning over each of them. **"Are you the ones that have killed are brethren?"**

" **No,"** Evelyn replied. The man's eyes snapped to her. **"We have come here in search for our family."**

" **Taymullah!"** called one of the men as he stepped forward out of the group. The man before them turned to face him. As he stopped before the man, who was a head taller than him, his dark eyes flickered towards Evelyn and he pulled down his face cover. Evelyn gasped at the familiar face of Kaphiri Alavi. **"This is Evelyn Tracy, the one Adrien tricked into reading the excerpt and it is her family that the one called the Hood is after."**

" **How do you know that?"** Evelyn asked. The two men looked towards her, Taymullah lowering his sword.

" **I overheard Adrien talking to the Hood about it the night before,"** Kaphiri explained. John, Fermat, and Tin-Tin looked between the two in confusion. **"He freely talked about it within earshot of me, not aware that I could understand every word he was saying."**

Evelyn looked at Kaphiri incredulously. "You can speak English?"

"I am the only one in our tribe that can speak it fluently," he replied with a smile that was almost smug. Seeing Evelyn's confused look at the mention of his 'tribe', he motioned to the group of men around him. "We are a few of the last Medjai in the world."

"Evelyn?"

She looked over beside her to see her brother looking between her and Kaphiri in confusion. "How do you know him?"

"You remember me telling you about Kaphiri Alavi?" she inquired.

John looked thoughtful for a moment before he nodded. "But I thought he couldn't speak English?"

"None but my tribe know that I can," he replied with a smile before his expression turned serious. "Now, I believe you said something about your family."

"Yes," John began. "We lost communication with them about two hours ago before losing their signals completely."

"And you are?" Kaphiri asked, looking towards John, Fermat, and Tin-Tin with a curious expression.

"Oh, this is my older brother John," Evelyn answered, putting a hand on her older brother's arm. "And these two are good friends of ours, Fermat Hackenbacker and Tin-Tin Belagant."

Kaphiri nodded towards each of them in turn. "Pleasure to meet you. Though I do wish it was under better circumstances."

"Same here," Tin-Tin replied softly.

"Kaphiri, is this really Hamunaptra?" Evelyn asked, motioning to the landscape around them.

"Yes, it is," Kaphiri replied.

"Then do you know where the Book of Amun-Ra is?" 

Taymullah, who had been paying little attention to the conversation and had been conversing with one of the other Medjai turned around quickly at the mention of the book.

Kaphiri looked shocked at her question. "How do you know about that?"

"I did my research on the Book of the Dead after resurrecting Yuja," she explained. "And since the Book of the Dead is obviously real, then I thought that the Book of Amun-Ra is also real."

"You are right," Kaphiri sighed. "But the Book of Amun-Ra is no longer here."

Evelyn felt her heart sink. If the Book was no longer here, then where was it. "Then where is it?"

"The Book was removed roughly ninety years ago," Kaphiri replied. He glanced over at Taymullah, who was watching them intently even though he could not completely understand what they were saying. "It was Taymullah's great grandfather who was commander at the time it was removed by a man named Rick O'Connell, his wife Evelyn, and their son Alex."

Evelyn's eyes widened. Her mother's grandparents had removed the Book from Hamunaptra. "Then we need to go to London."

"First we need to get the 'birds back to the island," John interjected. "And see if the camera's show what direction they headed off in."

Kaphiri glanced towards the three large machines that were several yards away before heading over to where Taymullah stood. They conversed quietly for a few moments before Taymullah nodded. Kaphiri mumbled a reply before walking back to where he had stood several moments before. "I shall go with you. I may be of assistance in tracking them and I will keep Taymullah informed so he can assist us once we know where to go."

Evelyn sighed and looked over at John. "We need them John. They know this desert better than anyone."

Kaphiri, sensing their dilemma, smiled towards the siblings. 

"If you are worried about me revealing the base of International Rescue to the world," he began. "The Medjai have protected secrets for centuries, one of them being Hamunaptra. And if I were to tell anyone, they would most likely take me as insane and suffering from sunstroke."

* * *

Roughly thirty miles south of Hamunaptra, the missing members of the Tracy family, along with Kyleigh and Narmer trudged along after Yuja, Saadia, and the Hood who rode a good distance ahead of them on camels. As when they had been sitting hours before, the guards rode in a circle around them to make sure they would not run off. But running off would be suicide, for nothing but desert surrounded them.

Jeff glanced at his sons as they walked around him, all of them covered in sweat and panting from the distance they had been forced to walk. Though the suits did not help, the temperature was already quite warm and the sun had not even been up an hour yet. Jeff moved closer to Scott and gripped his son's arm, the most comforting motion he could do with his hands in handcuffs. 

"How's the head?" he inquired.

Scott smiled over at his father. "A slight headache, but I've had worse."

They both then looked forward to where Alan, Gordon, and Virgil walked a few feet ahead of them, the eldest of the trio once more asking Gordon how his ribs were. Jeff and Scott smiled fondly as Gordon replied with his usual 'fine' before stumbling. Alan and Virgil caught his arms before he fell forward and pulled him back up. As the trio stopped to make sure he was okay, Jeff and Scott caught up to them.

"Are you alright?" Scott asked, looking over his second youngest brother.

Gordon nodded. "Yeah, just tripped but I'm okay." 

He glanced around at his family's raised eyebrows and sighed. "Really. I'm fine."

Jeff smiled fondly at the red head and reached forward and rubbed his shoulder. Gordon smiled up at his father and stepped forward to hug him awkwardly. As Gordon leaned against him, Jeff looked up at the rest of his sons with him and smiled.

Behind them, one of the guards on camel shouted in Egyptian as he came up behind Jeff before kicking him hard in the back. Jeff was pushed forward and into Gordon, who was, in turn, pushed to the ground. Alan helped Gordon up as Scott steadied their father. The four brothers glared at the guard, who only laughed in response and shouted once more, motioning for them to move.

The group did as they were told, though the brothers continued to glare at the guard until he was once more a few feet behind them. The glares then disappeared as they looked at their father in concern as he stretched his back and winced.

"Dad, are you alright?" Virgil inquired as he walked beside his father.

"I'll be alright," Jeff replied as he stopped stretching. "My back has suffered worse hits than that."


	18. Where They Are Going

**Chapter Seventeen- Where They Are Going**

"Impressive," Kaphiri commented as he looked around at Command and Control in amazement. A small smile formed on Evelyn's face as she watched the Medjai look around the room. 

She had flown Thunderbird Three with John back with Kaphiri accompanying them while Fermat flew One and Tin-Tin Two back to the island. 

Now they all had just entered Command and Control to find Brains still seated at the desk. Kyrano and Onaha entered the room a few moments after them holding a tray of sandwiches and glasses of water.

"Brains," John began as he took one of the sandwiches from Onaha, giving the women a grateful smile before walking over to where the engineer sat with Fermat standing beside him. "You get the footage from the camera on Thunderbird Two. I'm going to contact Lady Penelope and fill her in."

Brains glanced over at John and nodded. "S-S-S-okay."

John then moved away down the desk to one of the other monitors to call Lady Penelope. As Evelyn and Tin-Tin walked over to where the image of Lady Penelope appeared on the screen, Evelyn glanced back and motioned for Kaphiri to come over. 

"Lady Penelope," she began as the Medjai came and stood beside her. "This is Kaphiri Alavi, a Medjai. Kaphiri, this is Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward. He and his people are going to help us."

"Pleasure to meet you Kaphiri," the British women replied with a small smile towards the Medjai.

Kaphiri bowed his head towards her. "Likewise my Lady."

Penelope shifted her gaze from Kaphiri back to John, the smile disappeared and her expression turned serious. 

"Brains informed me of what has happened," she stated. "Any idea where they might be now?"

"Not yet," John shook his head. "But Brains is getting the footage from the exterior camera on Thunderbird Two. Hopefully, it will at least tell us which direction they went."

"G-Got it!" Fermat exclaimed from beside his father. 

John, Evelyn, Tin-Tin, and Kaphiri moved away from the screen showing Lady Penelope and stood behind Brains and Fermat as the screen showed the lit landscape in front of Thunderbird Two. Nothing was seen for a few moments besides the destroyed tents. Then a group of ten men walked towards Thunderbird Two and disappeared below the camera's line of vision.

During the minutes after the men had disappeared, the area before Thunderbird Two suddenly was bustling with activity, though none of the people were recognizable. After roughly ten minutes past with nothing significant, the men reappeared and with them were the now handcuffed Tracy's that had been in the craft. They were led away from Thunderbird Two and pushed to the ground at the very top edge of the camera's vision. The eyes of all those watching the footage watched as Jeff crawled out of the frame, though his feet were still visible.

Three more figures approached the area where the Tracy's had been deposited, only one of them familiar to all but Evelyn. 

"The creature has regenerated," Kaphiri murmured. "But who is the woman?"

Evelyn looked away from the screen and over to the Medjai beside her. 

"That is Saadia, who claims to be Meritaten reincarnated," she explained softly.

Kaphiri nodded, still watching the screen intently. Evelyn then turned her attention back to the screen as well. The Hood and Saadia had moved away from the Tracy's and were standing beside Yuja and an unknown man. Yuja looked furious and after a few moments, the man left the group. Yuja conversed with Saadia for a few moments before leaving her with the Hood. She then turned towards him and conversed for a few moments before they too walked and disappeared off the right edge of the screen.

Near the very top edge of the screen, they were able to see Alan sitting beside Jeff, their backs towards the camera. A few minutes later they were pulled to their feet and pushed towards the right of the screen, where they soon disappeared. A few more people walked across the screen, heading in the same direction before disappearing and leaving the scene how John, Evelyn, Fermat, and Tin-Tin had found it.

"What time was this?" John asked after a few minutes of nothing happening on the screen.

"F-f-four thirty," Brains reported. "R-roughly t-t-two hour's b-b-prior to your arrival."

"And ours as well," Kaphiri added. "This camera is facing east, correct?"

"Yeah," John replied, moving away from the screen and back to the one that showed Lady Penelope, glancing over at Kaphiri. "It looks like they headed south."

"South," Kaphiri repeated. He hung his head and heaved a heavy sigh. "I was afraid of this."

"Afraid of what?" Evelyn asked, feeling panic beginning to rise within her at the Medjai's statement. Glancing over at John, she saw the same panic showing clearly on his face. "Where are they going?"

"Back to Amarna," Kaphiri replied, looking between the siblings in front of him. "To raise the army of Ramesses, a secret the Medjai have been guarding for centuries. The creature is surely the one to have thought of this plan, for none outside the Medjai have known the possibility to do so. Protecting that secret is the reason I was sent to work for George in the first place. And now the creature has what he needs to raise the army."

"Our family," Evelyn stated softly, her blood running cold at the thought. All those in the room and Lady Penelope on the screen looked at the Medjai with wide eyes. John put a hand on Evelyn's shoulder, which she reached up and squeezed tightly. Kaphiri nodded, his expression grim.

"To raise the army, you must sacrifice one that is pure of heart," he explained. "I cannot think of a purer heart than one who would not only die to protect his family but would willingly die for a complete stranger and want nothing in return for it."

"It's one of those 'two birds with one stone' situations for them," Evelyn muttered, gripping John's hand tightly, both of them extremely pale. "They get a pure heart to sacrifice, and a way for me to come willingly after them."

"And I know that asking you to stay here would be pointless," John said softly. Evelyn glanced back at him and gave him a look that said, ' _no duh'_. John smiled fondly down at her and gently squeezed her shoulder.

"Besides the answer obviously being no," she stated with a small smile towards her brother. "I am the only one here besides Kaphiri that can read hieroglyphs. You're going to need me to read the inscription from the Book of Amun-Ra."

"The Book was moved years ago," Kaphiri sighed. "And its location was kept secret. Not even Taymullah knows of its location."

A small smile formed on Evelyn's face. 

"But I do know where the one person that may know its location is," she said. She then turned back towards Lady Penelope on the screen. "Have you heard of Bethlem Royal Hospital?"

"Yes, I have donated money to them for the past several years," Penelope replied, a look of confusion on the women's face. "Why?"

Evelyn glanced over at all those in the room who looked at her in curiosity. "Alex O'Connell, our grandfather and one of those that was involved in moving the Book, is in that hospital."

As when she had been explaining to her family back in Egypt and had vented, all but John looked at her incredulously. Looking up at her older brother, Evelyn saw that he had raised an eyebrow and was looking down at her. 

"What?" he asked.

"Alexander O'Connell, son of author Evelyn O'Connell was mom's dad," Evelyn explained. "And Alex knows where the Book of Amun-Ra was hidden because he was there."

"What is the Book of Amun-Ra?" Tin-Tin asked from where she stood beside Fermat and Brains.

"The golden Book of Amun-Ra, also known as the Book of the Living," Kaphiri began. "The Book of Amun-Ra is the opposite of the Book of the Dead."

Evelyn nodded in agreement with what the Medjai had said. "The tablet I was tricked into reading was an excerpt from the Book of the Dead, which can bring deceased back to life."

"So the Book of Amun-Ra, being the opposite of the Book of the Dead, can kill him," John concluded, looking between Evelyn and Kaphiri for confirmation. Both his sister and the Medjai nodded. John sighed and looked towards Lady Penelope on the screen. "Looks like we'll be heading over there Lady Penelope."

"We can meet at my place before heading to Kent," she replied with a small smile. Her smile faded and turned to a frown as she looked over John and Evelyn. "But I suggest you get some sleep before flying over here. You look exhausted and seeing as it is almost midnight here, it will be a while before the actual visiting hours at the hospital."

"Arriving during the middle of the night is probably not the best way to get on their good side," he replied. John glanced over at Evelyn, who tried to hide a yawn and chuckled. "We'll call you before we take off."

Penelope smiled at Evelyn's attempt to hide the yawn before looking back at John. 

"Parker and I will be waiting. See you soon," she responded before she disconnected and the screen went black.

Onaha gave the empty that had been holding the glasses of water to her husband before he left the office with the half-eaten tray of sandwiches and smiled warmly as she walked up to where John and Evelyn stood beside Kaphiri. 

"You two head to bed," she instructed. "Kaphiri, if you follow me I will show you to one of the guest rooms."

"Thank you Onaha," he replied, inclining his head as he had down with Lady Penelope before following her out of the room. 

At the doorway, Onaha glanced back and looked towards her daughter. Tin-Tin nodded towards her mother, who then left the room with Kaphiri. A few moments after her mother left, Tin-Tin sighed.

"I'll see you guys in the morning," she stated, giving Fermat a one arms hug before heading towards the door. As her mother had, she too stopped at the doorway and looked towards John and Evelyn. 

"And I will be accompanying you to England, and I'm pretty sure Fermat is too," she glanced towards her friend who nodded in agreement. Tin-Tin smiled. "No buts' about it."

"I didn't say 'but', did I?" she asked defensively, though the twitching corners of her mouth gave her away. She looked at John beside her. "Did you say 'but'?"

John shook his head. 

"Nope," he replied. He smiled towards Tin-Tin. "Looks like your coming with us."

Tin-Tin laughed. She then turned and walked down the hall. 

"Night guys!" she called, her voice echoing off the walls of the hallway. 

John wrapped an arm around Evelyn's shoulder and began to lead the two of them out of the room, which was now beginning to change from Command and Control back into their father's office.


	19. Alexander O'Connell

**Chapter Eighteen- Alexander O'Connell  
** **September 9** **th** **, 2024**

Late the next morning found John and Evelyn walking towards the front desk in the lobby of the Bethlem Royal Hospital in Kent. It had been decided not long after the group from Tracy Island had arrived at Lady Penelope's mansion that it would be better if only those related to Alex went to the hospital to see him. So while the two siblings had taken a rental car to the hospital, the rest of the party was a few blocks away in FAB 1, waiting for a phone call from the siblings.

The lobby of the hospital was bright and clean, with fresh flowers set on tables on either side of the door, and brightly colored paintings hung on the walls. A sterile clean smell filled the air. John and Evelyn lowered the hoods of their jackets and shook off a bit of the rain onto the mat just inside the door before making their way towards the front desk, behind which a kind-faced nurse looked up and smiled towards them. "Hello there. Can I help you?"

John smiled at the nurse, his hands setting on the edge of the counter.

"Yes. My name is John Tracy and this is my sister Evelyn," he said, motioning to Evelyn beside him. The nurse's eyes widened at their last name, though she said nothing. "We're here to see our grandfather, Alex O'Connell."

The nurse looked startled at the name.

"O'Connell?" she repeated, looking curiously between the two siblings. She frowned in concentration as she looked at the two of them.

"Yes, I can see the resemblance. You-" she motioned to John. "Have the same eyes as Mr. O'Connell. And you young lady, have his smile."

John chuckled and set a hand on Evelyn's shoulder, who in turn smiled up at him. The nurse stood up from the chair and walked around the desk to stand before the siblings.

"Now if you will follow me," she instructed with a bright smile. "I will take you to your grandfather."

"Thank you, ma'am," John replied. The nurse nodded before heading back around the desk and through a set of double doors behind it, the John and Evelyn a few steps behind her. The hallway through the double doors was similar in décor to the lobby, though instead of the marble floor in the lobby, the hallways was done with beige carpet. Doors lined the hall on either side, though there was a good distance between them.

The nurse glanced back at the siblings as they walked.

"This is the wing of the hospital where all our permanent patients live," she explained. "They are able to decorate the room to suit their own tastes, while the staff here take care of everything for them. Ah, here we are."

She paused before the door and looked back at John and Evelyn. "Just be warned, he believes that such things as mummies and yeti are real and will quickly come to their defense if anything is said against them. So tread carefully."

John and Evelyn glanced at each other as she turned back around and knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a voice yelled from inside the room. The nurse then pushed the keypad beside the door and it slid open.

The trio stepped through the door and stepped into the living room with a small kitchen, while an attached doorway led to the small bedroom. Both were painted a deep red with cream trim while the floor was a rich mahogany. On the walls and on several pieces of furniture around the living space were pictures, quite a few containing a young man with a striking resemblance to John.

In the living room, an elderly man in a wheelchair turned away from the television to face them. Though he was obviously quite old, he still was not quite a thin or helpless-looking as expected. His hair was neatly trimmed, short, and pure white. Piercing blue eyes scanned the two unfamiliar figures in his room. After looking at John and Evelyn for a few moments, he grinned towards the nurse. "Hello, Ruby."

"Good morning Mr. O'Connell," she greeted in return, speaking a bit louder than normal. A bright smile formed on her face. "I see you have your dentures in."

"I need the damn things, no matter how much I hate them," he replied, his accent mostly American but with slight hints of British seeping through.

"And no need to yell. I'm a hundred not deaf," he added with a frown. Ruby flushed and mumbled and apology.

Alex set down the television remote on the stand beside the small couch before turning the chair and rolled towards her. "It's alright. And how many times have I told you to call me Alex?"

"I've lost count," Ruby shrugged, though her lips turned upwards into a small grin. She glanced back at the siblings and motioned for them to step forward. "Anyway, this is John and Evelyn Tracy. They are here to see you, their grandfather."

The grinned disappeared the instant Ruby said their last name and was replaced with surprise. Alex's blue eyes, so similar to John's and Alan's, quickly transferred to them as they stepped forward. He first took in John's appearance, studying the young man whose appearance intently for a few minutes before looking towards Evelyn. A ghost of a smile formed on his thin lips.

"Last time I saw either of you was when you and your twin were just over a month old," he murmured, wheeling closer to them. Ruby stepped out of the way and with a small smile, stepped out of the room.

Evelyn watched the elder women leave the room and the door slid shut before looking back towards Alex. She quickly glanced over at John with a raised eyebrow, who nodded in response to her silent question.

"First things first," she began, looking back towards Alex. "We know that you were put in here when thought insane, but we know that you are not. For we have had our own trouble with a mummy, that I was tricked into resurrecting."

The shocked expression that had formed on Alex's face at this declaration only lasted a few seconds, before turning into a wry smile. "Seems that rising mummies by accident is a family trait, which seems to have skipped Lucy and gone on to you."

"So the rumors were true," Evelyn stated softly. "The books were based on her adventures in Egypt."

Alex smiled, glancing over at a picture on the wall. The black and white picture showed a man with his arms around the women in the picture, the man showing much resemblance to Alex. Around the women's neck was a familiar looking locket.

"My mother's first book," he began, smiling fondly at the picture of his parents. "Is the story of how my parents met. I was born one year after this picture was taken."

With a heavy sigh, Alex looked away from the picture and towards Evelyn and John. "How about you two sit down," he suggested. "And tell me about your own mummy problems."

"Exactly how many mummies have you encountered?" John asked as he and Evelyn moved past Alex and sat down on the small couch. Alex wheeled his chair around to face them.

"Well, there was Imhotep when I was eight," he began, ticking them off on his fingers. "That was the second time my parents faced him. Then there was the Dragon Emperor in China when I was twenty-two, it was during that adventure I met Lin."

Alex motioned to a second photo that sat on the table beside the couch, one that was familiar to Evelyn for it was the same picture in her locket. It showed Jeff and Lucille, newly married with her parents with them. One of them, of course, being Alex, whose hair was beginning to go gray and beside him was a petite Asian woman, who was smiling brightly at her beaming daughter.

"After that was the one in Peru. Uncle Jon moved there, thinking he could get away from them, but it seems our family is a magnet for them," he chuckled, his eyes distant as he stared down at his hands for a few moments. "Anyway, what's the deal with the newest mummy to come into contact with our family?"

Evelyn heaved a heavy sigh and sat forward on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees.

"It started the day before mine and Gordon's birthday when I received an e-mail from Adrien Ness," she began. "He was the successor to George Carnarvon, under whom I have learned how to read hieroglyphs. He offered me the chance to be part of the dig he was financing at Amarna."

"Turns out the entire thing was a trap all along and he tricked me into reading a tablet that was an excerpt from the book of the dead. He was allied with a man that had tried to kill our family four years ago and a woman who says she is Meritaten reincarnated," she continued. "Both she and the mummy, who is called Yuja, seem to think that I am Henuttawy reincarnated. It was for his hand in her murder that Yuja was subjected to the Hom-Dai."

Alex sighed and sat back in his chair. Evelyn glanced over at John beside her as she sat back against the couch. John watched his sister for a few moments before looking back towards their grandfather.

"What do you know about our father's business?" he asked.

Alex frowned at the question. "Tracy Industries? What does that have to-"

Evelyn cut him off, leaning her head back against the couch and closing her eyes. "Tracy Industries doesn't have anything to do with this. But International Rescue does."

"International Rescue?" he repeated, looking between the two siblings in confusion. "What do they- Oh."

Understanding dawned in the elder man's eyes. Evelyn and John nodded, confirming that he had indeed come to the correct answer.

"So you?" Alex asked, motioning to the two of them.

John nodded. "Yes, we are. Dad came up with the idea for International Rescue the year after mom died," he explained. "I spend a good portion of the year up in our satellite station, Thunderbird Five."

Alex nodded, indicating that he was following what they were saying with little confusion. If it was things that seemed impossible to normal people, Alex usually believed it. For he had seen and fought against things said to be impossible as far back as he could remember. So being told that his grandchildren were members of International Rescue wasn't that hard to believe.

"Four years ago," Evelyn began, opening her eyes and lifting her head off the back of the couch. "A man called the Hood shot a missile at Thunderbird Five. While dad, Scott, Virgil, and Gordon headed up to Five to help John, he invaded the island. He wanted revenge for being left behind in a collapsing mine, thinking dad had left him to die while in truth there was no way to reach him safely."

"So he has allied himself with Yuja," Alex stated after a few moments of silence, looking deep in thought as he pressed the tips of his fingers together in his lap. Alex sighed and looked up from his hands. "From all that I have seen in my dealing with this sort of thing, is that when the creature is taken down his allies always go down with him."

"And in his quest for revenge and as part of the deal," Evelyn sighed. "They captured our family when called to a fake rescue in Hamunaptra. They are taking them back to Amarna as a ploy to draw me there, and to raise the army of Ramesses."

"Yet another 'raise an army and take over the world' deal," Alex muttered darkly, rolling his eyes. "Joy. "

Evelyn sat forward on the couch, resting her elbows on her knees as she looked forward. John set a hand on her shoulder and Evelyn shot a small smile over at him before her expression turned serious.

"Which leads to why we are here," she began. "We need the golden Book of Amun-Ra. We know you were there when it was moved, for we had our own run in with the Medjai."

Alex blinked in surprise before chuckling. "Not surprising that you ran into them. The Book is in O'Connell Manor, in London. Though I do not know where the key to the chest it is hidden in is."

The hope that both Evelyn and John had felt rising within them at the revelation on where the Book was hidden, was slightly dampened by this revelation.

"What happened to the key?" John inquired.

"The key was my mother's locket," Alex replied. "Which she gave to Lucy when she turned eighteen."

John and Evelyn gaped at Alex before John looked towards his sister, who had immediately gone for one of the chains around her neck. Finding the correct chain, she pulled the locket out from underneath her shirt and showed it to Alex. "Is this the locket?"

Alex shook his head, chuckling. "I should have known that it would have been passed on to you."

"Dad gave it to me for Christmas four years ago," Evelyn replied, fingering the locket around her neck with a fond smile on her face.

Alex smiled at her for a moment before moving his chain and heading to the small table in the kitchen, grabbing a pen and piece of paper from the counter. John and Evelyn stood from the couch and followed him.

"In order to get in, enter this code into the alarm system," Alex began, glancing up from the paper to look at the siblings. "I am also going to write down how to get where the Book is hidden in the mansion."

"Sounds good," John nodded, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and walking back towards the living room. "I'm gonna call Lady Penelope and update them."

"Okay," Evelyn replied, glancing over her shoulder at her older brother for a moment before looking back to where Alex was writing. As they heard John beginning to talk on the phone, Alex stopped writing and moved away from the table, heading into the bedroom.

Evelyn followed him into the room and stopped in the doorway. Alex went to the desk and opened the bottom drawer, pulling from it a dark brown, leather bound journal. He set it down on the desk and motioned for Evelyn to come in.

"This is something you must keep to yourself," he whispered, flipping through the journal in search of something particular. After a few seconds of searching, he stopped. On the page, the writing was faded and very sloppy. He ripped the bottom half off, folded it up, and handed it to Evelyn. "This is the incantation I used to resurrect my mother when I was eight and Anck-Su-Namun stabbed her. I wrote it down the English pronunciation of it shortly after we returned to England. Hopefully, you will not need it."

Evelyn glanced back through the doorway, where they could still hear John talking on the phone. Evelyn pursed her lips, hating the idea of hiding something so important from her brother. She turned back to Alex and took the paper from his hand, putting it into the front pocket of her jeans.

"I won't tell anyone of it," she whispered.

Alex smiled as he replaced the journal back into the drawer before heading out of the room. "Thank you, Evelyn. The Medjai would most likely have my head if they knew I had written it down."

As Alex finished writing the directions to find the Book, John snapped his cell phone shut and joined them by the table. "Lady Penelope says to call her again once we are in the car. She'll give us directions on how to get to the mansion. They will meet us there."

Evelyn nodded. "Sounds good."

Alex looked up as he set the pen down.

"There you go," he stated, pushing the paper towards Evelyn and John. "After you get the Book and you head to Egypt to go after them, make sure to take transportation that is quiet, not necessarily speedy. Getting caught and killed in one of the creatures sandstorms before you can reach them will get you nowhere."

Evelyn handed the paper to John before bending down and hugging Alex.

"Thank you," she whispered before standing up again. "We'll be sure to get in touch again once this is all over."

"Maybe we can even get you out to the island sometime," John added, folding the paper and stowing it in his pocket.

"Sounds great," Alex replied with a smile. "Good luck you two."


	20. The Golden Book of Amun-Ra

**Chapter Nineteen-** **The Golden Book of Amun-Ra**

Just over an hour after leaving the Bethlem Royal Hospital, John and Evelyn were stepping out of the rented car outside a large mansion that rivaled Lady Penelope's in size. A few feet away from them, Lady Penelope, Parker, Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Kaphiri stepped out of FAB 1 and joined the siblings as they stood near the entrance to the mansion.

"Incredible," Evelyn murmured as the group approached the entrance to the mansion, the gravel of the driveway crunching beneath their feet. Beside her, Tin-Tin nodded her head in agreement as she looked at the mansion with wide eyes.

Pulling the note out of his pant pocket, John stepped up to the keypad just beside the large, oak double doors. The keypad chimed with each button that John pushed. He then glanced down at the paper and double checked the code before pressing 'enter'. 

"Access granted. Security system disabled," a feminine monotone computer voice announced.

Taking a deep breath, John grasped the large, ornate handle and the door swung open. The foyer was light from natural light from the stained glass windows on each side of the door and reflected off the black and white marble tile. 

Another set of double doors sat before them, these also containing a large amount of stained glass. As John closed the main doors behind the group, Evelyn opened the next set of doors and entered the next room.

Most of the room was done in wood paneling and a large, white marble fireplace stood off to the left while beside it an open door led to a room full of coats while directly across from them was another pair of double doors and a grand staircase leading up to the second floor of the mansion. 

Evelyn was immediately drawn to the marvelously restored sarcophagus on the far side of the fireplace. Evelyn examined the sarcophagus in awe, running her fingers over the inscription on its front. 

"Nefertiti, daughter of Seti the first," she read softly. "How in the world-"

"Evie."

Evelyn turned around at the sound of her brother's voice to see the group was standing at the bottom of the staircase waiting for her. John simply had an eyebrow raised while the others in the group were smiling at her. 

She grinned sheepishly as she stepped away from the sarcophagus and joined the group in heading upstairs. Kaphiri chuckled and shook his head as he let her pass him and join her sibling at the front of the group beside her brother.

John looked up from the paper as she fell into step beside him. 

"It says up the stairs, first door you see," he stated as they reached the top of the staircase. 

Unlike the ground floor that was done in dark wood paneling, the wooden paneling on the second floor had been painted a crisp, clean white and let you look down into the living room below. Bookshelves lined the walls. John and Evelyn led the way to the door at the top of the stairs. John grasped the handle, turned the knob, and pushed the door open.

It was a large study, done in dark paneling like the ground floor with two large window's that were framed by dark green drapes. A leather couch and chair sat a few feet in front of the desk. John looked down at the last line of the instructions that Alex had written. ' _Wooden chest on bookcase between the windows'._

Looking up from the note, the siblings looked towards the shelf between the windows as the group entered the room behind them. A large, wooden chest sat on the middle shelf with a lock done in gold. The two glanced at each other and smiled before swiftly walking across the room. John removed the chest from the shelf and then set it on the desk as Evelyn unclasped the locket from around her neck.

Looking down at the locket and to the lock on the chest, Evelyn realized that the strange carvings on the lockets face that she had always been curious about would fit perfectly into the lock. 

Evelyn bit her lip as she pressed the locket into the lock. The lock clicked and the fastening that held it closed popped open. As she replaced the locket around her neck, John held his breath and opened the chest. Inside was a large object wrapped in a gray cloth.

John felt all breath leave him as he pulled back the cloth and bright, glowing gold shined through the small break in the covering. The eyes of all those in the room went wide as John unwrapped the book and pulled it out of the chest. 

The book was solid gold and contained several tablets within it that were also gold, hieroglyphs covered its cover. The bind of the book was steel as well as the broken lock. He then set it on the desk beside the chest.

"The Book of Amun-Ra," Kaphiri muttered as he stepped up to the desk and ran his fingers over its cover, taking in the symbols with wide eyes.

Lady Penelope had a hand over her mouth as she looked down at the Book. Parker stared at it for several moments before looking towards Evelyn. "Miss Tracy, is that really-"

"Pure gold?" she finished for him, tearing her eyes away from the Book to look at him. "Yes, it is. It's not called the golden Book of Amun-Ra for nothing."

"When you called it golden, I never thought you meant it was literally gold," Tin-Tin stated with a slight chuckle, shaking her head in disbelief at the sight of the Book on the desk.

* * *

In the Sahara desert, the captured Tracy's along with Kyleigh and Narmer continued to trail after their captors. The sun shined hot down on them, turning their skin pink. Their hair was full of sand and their faces had scratches from the times they had tripped in the sand. 

Blisters were beginning to form on their feet from walking, while their oppressors sat comfortably on camels around them. They had only stopped walking during the night and sleep did not come easily when you were surrounded by men who would not hesitate to kill you.

Jeff raised his bound hands and whipped the sweat from his brow. His back was still sore from where he had been kicked, though the pain was probably nothing to the tenderness to Gordon's ribs or the large bruise on the side of Scott's face that was now a dark purple. He trailed after his sons as they walked in silence, the heat of the day even silencing Gordon where he walked beside Alan with Virgil and Scott a few feet behind them.

Last night when they had stopped, and after they had been given a bucket of water to be split between the seven of them, Kyleigh and Narmer filled the family of what he had heard the night the Tracy's had been captured and had explained to them who the Medjai were. 

The fact that someone may be following them and be able to get news to John and Evelyn was a relief to the family. All of them knew that should Evelyn follow them, and that was something she was highly likely to do, that she would be doing exactly what Yuja and Saadia wanted.

Then the question came about, even if she did come after them, there was still no way to kill Yuja. Virgil and Alan answered this question, telling their family, Kyleigh, and Narmer of what they and Evelyn had found just before they had left the island. Now all they could do was hope that Alex knew where the book was.

"Whoa!"

"Alan!" Gordon cried Jeff looked up to see his youngest son trip. Gordon tried to grab his younger brother but only succeeded in falling himself. The two of them tumbled down to the bottom of the sand dune.

"Alan! Gordon!" Scott and Jeff yelled and they, along with Virgil ran down to where they lay at the bottom of the dune.

Alan was pushing himself up, spitting out the sand that had gotten into his mouth while Gordon simply rolled over and lay on his back, panting as he wrapped his arms around his middle as best he could with his bound hands. Virgil dropped down into the sand beside Alan and helped him sit up while Scott and Jeff knelt beside Gordon.

"Gordon, you alright?" Jeff asked as he and Scott helped Gordon sit up. Gordon gave them a wry smile.

"I've been better," he answered, his breathing beginning to even out though he still kept his arms around his middle.

"Jeff!"

The family looked up at Kyleigh's yell to see her and Narmer standing at the top of the dune, the former of which was looking to something beyond Alan and Virgil. Seeing the family looking towards her, Kyleigh pointed in the direction Narmer was looking.

The caravan of camels had stopped and the three that had been in the lead were turned towards them. Jeff felt panic begin to rise within him when he caught sight of Saadia moving towards them, pulling the knife out of her belt. His sons followed his gaze and quickly set to work getting their fallen sibling off the ground.

Saadia stopped her camel a few yards from them as Gordon stood, Jeff and Scott's hands on his arms as the family faced the women. Saadia's lips curled into a sneer as her dark eyes scanned the family.

"I see you have learned your place. It better stay that way because I am just itching to use this," she stated, holding up the knife for them to see before replacing it into her belt. She then turned her camel around and riding back to where Yuja and the Hood waited for her.

As Saadia rejoined the front of the caravan, Yuja roared orders in Egyptian and the party began moving once more. Jeff heaved a heavy sigh as he and Scott helped Gordon back up the dune. 

_Lucy, please let help find us soon. If anything were to happen to the boys, I don't know what I would do. It was heard enough to lose you. Another loss would destroy this family. Protect our boys Lucy. Help John and Evelyn find the Book of Amun-Ra, and protect them on their journey._

* * *

"Well, that rules out FAB 1," Tin-Tin stated where she sat on the leather couch beside Lady Penelope and Fermat in the study of O'Connell manor. John and Evelyn had just relayed the tip that Alex had given them regarding how to go after Yuja. "We would stick out like a sore thumb."

"Whatever way you shall get there," Kaphiri began, pushing himself away from where he had been leaning against the desk. "I will follow with my people on the ground."

Evelyn nodded, leaning back into the chair behind the desk. The Book of Amun-Ra sat before her on the desk, open to the page that the spell to rob Yuja of his immortality was written. "As long as we fly, we should be able to pass them and get to Amarna before them. We'll just need something small and relatively quiet. But what?"

The study went quiet as each thought about what they could possibly take that fit this description. The silence was broken after several minutes by Fermat.

"Sam," he stated, looking towards Evelyn.

"Sam?" she repeated. "What are you-oh! That's perfect! Fermat, you are a genius!"

"Who's Sam?" John asked where he stood beside Evelyn, looking between his sister and Fermat with a raised eyebrow.

"Sam Connors is the one who taught me and Fermat how to fly ultralights," Evelyn explained, looking up at her brother as she sat forward in the chair. "They can go roughly twenty-five miles an hour, can carry two people, easy to fly, and with some work, they can be relatively quiet. By flying at a high altitude we should be able to avoid being seen."

"Sounds great," John commented, smiling down at his sister. "How many does he have?"

"Four I think," Evelyn replied. "Plus mine means that five of us can fly and one of them can fly with each of us."

"And my people and I can take care of Kyleigh and Narmer," Kaphiri added as Evelyn pulled her cell phone out of her pant pocket. She flipped her phone open and scrolled through her phone book until she found the number she was searching for. She pushed the call button and held it up to her ear.

"Hello," a male voice stated after a few rings.

"Hey Sam, this is Evelyn," she answered. The study went silent once more as they listened to Evelyn's side of the conversation.

"Good to hear from you, Evie. How ya doing?" he asked. By the tone of her friend's voice, Evelyn knew that the man was smiling

"Been better," she replied. "Listen, I need a favor."


	21. The Five Flyers

**Chapter Twenty-** **The Five Flyers  
** **September 10th, 2024**

The next afternoon found John, Evelyn, Fermat, Tin-Tin, Kaphiri, Lady Penelope, and Parker waiting in a familiar field on the outskirts of Boston for Sam and his family to arrive. The group had spent the night at Lady Penelope's mansion before traveling to Boston the next day, Sam having agreed to sell his four ultralights to Evelyn.

Shortly after agreeing to the favor, Sam had apparently called his sister and had told her the news of Evelyn's visit. He had promptly called Evelyn back and told her that they would all have dinner that evening after he helped load up the ultralights into the trailer they had rented to carry them to the airport.

John, Fermat, and Kaphiri stood leaning against the large enclosed trailer attached to the truck they had rented while a few feet away, Parker stood beside Lady Penelope as they stood beside FAB 1 and watched the horizon for any approaching vehicles. Evelyn and Tin-Tin sat in the shade provided by the trailer, both of them playing with the grass on the ground in front of them.

The sound of two approaching diesel engines alerted the group of the approaching vehicles before they appeared and began to drive towards them. Both trucks pulled small, enclosed trailers in which the ultralights were stored. Evelyn and Tin-Tin dropped the blades of grass they had been playing with and stood up, brushing off their pants as they two trucks stopped a few yards behind the rental.

As the engines were turned off, the passenger door of the second truck was pushed open and a familiar brunette emerged from the truck and made her way towards Evelyn. Samantha smiled brightly as she hugged Evelyn in greeting.

"Hey Evelyn," Samantha smiled, glancing over her shoulder at her brother and his family as they stepped out of the truck. She then looked back towards Evelyn and smiled over towards Fermat. "Hello again, Fermat."

"H-h-hey Ms. Connors," he replied, stepping away from the trailer to stand before the women.

Samantha frowned, though her hazel eyes sparkled with mirth. "Fermat, you no longer attended Wharton's. I think you can start calling me Samantha now. Unless you would like me to continue calling you Mr. Hackenbacker?"

Fermat smiled. "I-it will just take some a-a-a-a getting used to."

Samantha then noticed Kaphiri standing awkwardly a few feet away.

"Who is he?" she asked quietly.

Fermat glanced over his shoulder to see who she was talking about and smiled as his eyes landed on the Medjai. 

"T-that's Kaphiri. He's an f-f-f-friend of Lady Penelope's," Fermat fibbed.

A few feet away, Evelyn smiled as she hugged Sam, Jessica, and Brad in greeting before looking to the tallest of the family. "Thank you so much for doing this, Sam."

"We're glad to help, Evelyn," Sam smiled, his wife wrapping an arm around her husband's waist as they both smiled at Evelyn. "Though we would like an explanation."

"We will explain everything at dinner," John commented as he came to stand beside Evelyn and extended his hand towards the family. _So they will be sitting down when we tell them._

Jessica took John's hand first and grinned at him. "And you must be John. Evelyn's told us so much about you and the rest of your family I feel like I already know all of you."

John glanced over at Evelyn with a raised eyebrow. Evelyn shrugged in response. John laughed before shaking Sam's hand. "I think that goes both ways, and not just from Evelyn."

Sam and Jessica laughed. 

"Speaking of Alan, where is he?" Jessica asked as Sam and Brad headed towards the trailers to unload the ultra lights.

Evelyn bit her lip and glanced over at John. Jessica's eyebrow's furrowed in confusion as she looked between the two siblings. 

"Where he is will also be explained over dinner," John answered, looking towards Evelyn as he spoke.

Jessica nodded slowly, her expression curious. John then reached into his back pocket and removed an envelope. He then preceded to hand it to Jessica. 

"For the ultra lights and flight suits," he explained as she opened the envelope and looked at the check inside. Her dark blue eyes went wide at the amount written on the check.

"I-we," she paused and took a deep breath as she closed the envelope and holding it out for John to take. "I-I can't accept this."

"Yes you can, Jessica," John replied, pushing Jessica's hand and the check back towards her. "You are doing us a huge favor and this is the least we can do."

"Now," Evelyn interrupted before Jessica could say any more about the check. John set a hand on Evelyn's shoulder as he smiled towards Jessica. "How about we get suited up so we can teach John, Tin-Tin, and Lady Penelope how to fly."

* * *

After spending several hours teaching John, Tin-Tin, and Lady Penelope how to fly an ultra light and also letting them go up on their own, the group found themselves in Samantha's apartment, who was amazed that so many people were able to fit into her dining room. They were currently sitting around her table, finishing off the third pizza she had gotten from Pizza Hut.

"Okay," Jessica began as she set down her napkin on the paper plate that Samantha had provided for them. "Where is Alan and why exactly do you need four ultralights?"

"You never were one to beat around the bush were you Jess," Samantha teased as she walked back into the dining room and sat down beside her brother. Samantha smiled as he sister-in-law rolled her eyes before she also looked towards Evelyn and John. "Though she did ask exactly what I was thinking."

"Same here," Sam agreed. On the other side of Jessica, Brad nodded his agreement.

"First things first," Lady Penelope stated, glancing at each of the Connors sitting at the table. "Everything that is going to be explained must stay in this room. No one must know what we are about to tell you."

"Are you guys like spies or something?" Brad laughed, ignoring the stern look his mother was giving him. "Oh, I know. The Thunderbirds."

Evelyn and John glanced at each other, their expressions serious before turning back to look at the four Connors. Brad slowly stopped laughing at the looks on their faces. 

"You are. You're the Thunderbirds?" he asked, his eyes wide in shock.

Sam, Samantha, and Jessica all looked towards Brad incredulously. They watched him stare at John and Evelyn for a few moments before they too looked at the two siblings sitting across from them. John gave a slight nod of confirmation and Evelyn smiled sadly towards Samantha.

"That's impossible," Samantha muttered, shaking her head.

"Dad came up with the idea the year after our mom died," John explained. "Fermat's dad helped dad's dream of a nonprofit rescue organization become a reality."

"But for all the good that they do, they have their enemies. One in particular called The Hood," Lady Penelope added.

"I remember that name," Sam muttered, glancing over at his wife before looking back towards the Tracy's. "About four years ago I believe. He found the base and hijacked Thunderbird Two. Wreaked havoc in London."

"That's exactly what he did. He first shot a missile at our space station, Thunderbird Five, where John was at the time," Evelyn explained, briefly glancing over at her brother beside her before looking back at the Connors. "While our father, Scott, Virgil, and Gordon headed up to help John, The Hood and his minions took over the island. While all those on the island were thrown into the freezer and Thunderbird Five headed towards the Earth's atmosphere, I was hiding on Thunderbird Two as it flew to London."

"And in London, he used the Mole to break into the Bank of England, where he then got caught and thrown in prison," Sam concluded, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. Evelyn and John nodded.

"But what does this have to do with the ultralights?" Jessica asked.

"As you guys know, I have my bachelor's in history and that while I was getting my degree, I was taking online lessons with George Carnarvon," Evelyn began. The Connors nodded that they remembered the times that Evelyn had raved about her latest lesson to them. "Two months ago I got an e-mail from his successor Adrien Ness, inviting me to a dig in the city of Amarna."

"The entire thing turned out to be a trap because the day after I arrived in the city I was tricked into reading an excerpt from the Book of the Dead. When I read it, I bought a mummy called Yuja to life," she continued, resting her elbows on the table and pressing the tips of her fingers together. "Ness turned out to be allied with the Hood, both of whom allied themselves with a woman named Saadia who is very chummy with Yuja."

"Three days ago there was a call in Egypt and our father and brothers were captured. It was while investigating where they had disappeared that we met Kaphiri, who is a Medjai. He and his people have agreed to help us. So we now plan to go after them in the ultralights," John concluded.

The Connors sat silent after the explanation, staring down at the grain of the table in front of them. Evelyn bit her lip as she watched for a reaction. After several moments, Sam looked up towards Evelyn. 

"So four of you are going to fly over there?" he asked.

"Five," she replied with s small smile. "Dad got me my own ultralight for my birthday last month while Alan got the flight suit. Fermat and his father then customized it."

He nodded before looking towards Samantha. His younger sister looked up at the two siblings seemed to have a silent conversation for a few moments before Samantha nodded slightly and looked back towards John and Evelyn with a small smile. 

"We won't tell anyone what has been said here," she said. "But, we do want a phone call afterward to tell us what happened. It's not every day you find out a friend of yours is part of a secret organization and is going off to fight a mummy."

Evelyn laughed and leaned back against the chair. "I will. I'll call and tell you all the details when this is over."

"I look forward to it," Samantha smiled. She then glanced over at her brother to see him nod his agreement 


	22. Here Comes the Cavalry

**Chapter Twenty One-** **Here Comes the Cavalry**   
**September 11th, 2024**

Early the next morning, long before the sun rose on Tracy Island, found Brains and Fermat double checking the adjustments to the ultralights while John, Evelyn, and Tin-Tin packed up supplies and divided them into five backpacks that each of them could carry with them. 

The supplies consisted of clothing for those captured to change into, a large array of medical supplies, and many bottles of water. They did not have to worry about food, for Kaphiri assured them that the Medjai would be able to provide meals to them. Though Onaha had given them a few muffins and granola bars to pack.

Evelyn sighed as she zipped up her backpack, which contained a change of clothes for Gordon along with the Book of Amun-Ra. As she swung the bag onto her shoulder, she reached over and rubbed Nefertiti where she lied on Evelyn's pillow. 

"See ya in a few days, Nefi," she murmured.

She smiled as Nefertiti meowed up at her before turning and walking out of her room, closing her door softly behind her. Evelyn walked swiftly down the hall towards her father's office. 

When she entered, she was surprised to see Brains and Fermat talking quietly in front of the command desk. Kaphiri stood up from where he had been sitting on the couch and stood behind her. 

"Modifications all done?" she asked as she stopped beside them.

Brains nodded. 

"And all l-l-l-packed into Tracy One," he responded, readjusting his glasses.

"Great," Evelyn smiled, glancing towards the door as John entered the room. "Then we should be all set to go once everyone else is ready."

"What?" John asked as he came to stand beside his sister.

Evelyn chuckled, shaking her head. "Nothing."

"I'll be fine, mom."

All those in the room turned towards the door as Tin-Tin entered with her parents on either side of her. Onaha had an arm around her daughter's shoulders as they walked into the room. The family stopped a few feet away from the desk and Onaha hugged her daughter tightly. After a few moments Onaha released her and Tin-Tin turned to hug her father.

"Now, are you sure you have everything?" Onaha asked as Kyrano released their daughter.

Tin-Tin nodded, smiling at her mother as she pulled up the pack slung over her shoulder. "Positive."

"Good luck, Tin-Tin," Kyrano stated, setting a hand on his daughter's shoulder as he smiled at her.

The sound of feet clinking against the floor outside the room announced the arrival of Lady Penelope garbed in her usual pink with Parker a few steps behind her, carrying a pack that was also pink. 

As the two came to a stop a few feet away from the Belagant family, Parker handed the pack to Lady Penelope, who then slung it over her shoulder. "Thank you, Parker."

"Good luck, milady," he responded.

"Well," Evelyn began, glancing around at all those in the room that were going. "We should go now, that way we can get a few hours in before the sun sets."

* * *

"I feel like I've fallen into an _Indiana Jones_ movie," Gordon stated as he and all those captured continued to walk in the hot afternoon sun, as always surrounded by guards on camels. They had been captured four days ago and so far there had been no sign of the Medjai outside the night they had been captured.

"And I'm guessing you're Indy?" Alan asked as the two of them walked side by side. Gordon looked over at his younger brother with an expression that said 'duh?'

"Oh, and what character am I?" Scott asked from where he walked a few feet behind Gordon and Alan.

Gordon glanced over at Alan, his face thoughtful for a few moments, before glancing over his shoulder at Scott. 

"Marion," he stated casually, his green eyes sparkling in amusement.

Beside him Alan let out a snort of laughter and glanced back to see Virgil trying to keep a straight face beside a scowling Scott. Behind them, Jeff chuckled at the interaction between his sons, glad that even though they were captured, in the middle of nowhere and beginning to suffer from exhaustion, Gordon was still able to lighten the mood.

The smiles on their faces disappeared when a commotion was heard from behind them. One of the guards riding in the rear of the group was riding towards the front of the party, a man garbed in all black being pulled behind his running camel. The party stopped and the Tracy boys gathered together and watched as the rider stopped before the three heads of the party.

" **My lord!"** the rider greeted as he slid off his camel. He then pulled on the rope that bound the man's hands and he stumbled forward, landing on his knees beside the rider. **"A scout. I discovered him roughly an hour's distance behind us."**

Yuja smiled towards the rider as she slid off his camel, Saadia and the Hood doing the same. 

**"Good work,"** he stated as he walked to stand before the kneeling man in black. **"So, you are a scout for the Medjai? Tell me, where is the party you are scouting for?"**

The Medjai remained silent, his expression natural as he stared into the air before him, ignoring Yuja. He then looked over at the Hood. As Yuja stepped away from the Medjai, the Hood stepped forward, his pupils turning to slits and his eye's blood red. The Medjai stiffened and turned to look at him, his features fighting to remain natural. 

**"No amount of torture will make me tell you,"** he stammered out, his voice lined with pain.

Yuja growled as the Hood stepped away from the Medjai, his eyes going back to their normal state. Both men then looked to Saadia. 

**"Get rid of him. Let his corpse be a marker to those who follow,"** Yuja instructed, pulling himself back up onto his camel.

" **My pleasure,"** Saadia smirked, stepping towards the man as she pulled the knife out of her belt. The Medjai watched her, his expression still natural as she stepped forward. He let out a soft grunt as she grabbed a fist full of his hair and held his head back, before slowly drawing the knife across his throat.

She grinned as blood flowed over her hand and watched as the life faded from the man's eyes, relishing in the feeling of pleasure and power that filled her after such an act. She then release his head and stepped back, allowing to corpse to fall face first into the sand. Saadia then glanced towards where the Tracy's stood with Kyleigh and Narmer and simply smirked towards them before heading back to her own camel.

During the short interrogation of the Medjai, Narmer had translated all that was said into English for those around him to understand. Though he did not have to translate what Saadia had said, her pleasure in taking the man's life was obvious even with the few yards distance between them.

"Well," Narmer began, those around him turning their pale faces to look at him. "At least one good thing came of this."

"And that would be?" Alan inquired, slightly nauseous from the scene they had just witnessed.

"We now know that someone is following us," Jeff stated softly as the guards began to shout for them to move. He glanced over at his sons to see them smiling around at each other as they once more began to move forward and could not help the grin that formed on his face.

* * *

It was early afternoon when Tracy One landed at Cairo International Airport, giving them several hours of light to fly. The ultralights were quickly unloaded before locking up Tracy One in one of the private hangers at the airport.

"This is where I take my leave of you," Kaphiri stated as the last ultra light was set up for operation. "I must meet up with my brethren."

Evelyn, who had been pulling on her flight suit finished zipping it up before smiling towards the Medjai. "Then I guess we'll see you soon."

"That you will," he replied before turning and heading out of the hanger with calls of farewell following him out of the large steel doors. Evelyn then went back to her own ultra light that she had been given for her birthday and double check that the pack was secure on the seat behind her.

The small craft was vastly different from the others, seeing as they were still mostly stock in appearance in contrast to her down. The body of the craft was done in a bright blue, the same shade as her flight suit and the wings were customized to look like a bird. But unlike the plane in her favorite movie, this one was what an legendary Thunderbird looked like and was done in many shades of blue and green.

As she pulled on her goggles and let them dangle around her neck, John came up beside her, already dressed in his own gray flight suit. 

"I've called air traffic control and told them we are just about to take off," he explained, setting a hand on her shoulder as he smiled at her. "Ready to get our family back?"

"Most defiantly," she grinned. He gently squeezed her shoulder before heading towards his own ultralight a few feet away.

"Hey, Evie!" Tin-Tin called from where she stood beside her own craft several yards away from Evelyn stood. "We ready?"

"Yeah!" the elder girl responded, her green eyes then transferring from the Malaysian girl to the young scientist among them. 

"Fermat!" she yelled. He turned around and the sound of his name and looked towards her. "Hit the switch on the gas lines for yourself and Tin-Tin! I'll get Lady Penelope and John."

"FAB!" he called in response before walking around to the back of his craft to do as Evelyn instructed. Evelyn then quickly walked over to the rear of John's craft and reached up, hitting the switch just behind the small motor, that would allow gas to the engine. With a smile towards John as he pulled on his goggles, she headed to where Lady Penelope's craft stood just beyond his and repeated the process, smiling towards the blond as she pulled on her pink helmet.

Once this was she returned to her own and flipped the switched before walking back towards the front. She then pulled on her goggles to where they sat comfortable before grabbing her helmet off the back seat and pulling it onto her head. As she sat down in the pilot's seat, she secured the fastenings below her chin.

On the console in front of her, instead of a jack for a two-way radio, a small monitor similar to the one Jeff had given her to take to Amarna was fastened to the console. She pushed the first small button on its face and watched as it flared to life. The screen was divided into six. One showed an image of herself and the others began to flare to life as each pilot activated their own monitor.

"Testing, testing. Everybody hear me?" she asked once all the small squares on the screen were filled.

"Loud and clear Evelyn," Lady Penelope responded with a smile, her voice being heard clearly through the headphones attached to her helmet.

"Same here," John added.

Tin-Tin smiled. "And here."

"Here as well," Fermat replied.

"Fermat, can you contact base for me and tell them we are taking off?" she asked, glancing out towards the clear outside air before her. "I'm going to head up and circle around. John, you come up after me and Tin-Tin, you follow him. Lady Penelope, once Tin's in the air, head up yourself and Fermat can bring up the rear. Once we are all up in the air, I'll start leading us south. Sound good?"

Each of the responded that they understood and as Fermat's image disappeared as he called his father, Evelyn reached forward and hit the switch on the console. The engine flared to life behind her, a shudder going through the entire craft before it slowly began to move forward. Inserting her hands into the gloves attached to the bar, Evelyn gilded the plane as it picked up speed, pushing the small craft out of the hanger and onto the private runway before it.

Once she was several yards from the hanger, she pushed forward on the bar and a grin blossomed on her face as the craft lifted into the air. Once she was at an good altitude, she pushed the bar to the right and leaned left, causing the craft to turn left as she began to circle the area around the hanger. She glanced towards the runway and watched as John's plane lifted off the ground and soon after began to circle behind her.

Not long after, she watched as Tin-Tin's craft lifted into the air and began to follow behind John as they flew in a circle around the area. A few moments later, Lady Penelope's followed suit. As Evelyn glanced down to watch as Fermat's craft emerged from the hanger, she reached forward and pushed the third button on the screen before her.

The image of herself was replaced with a map that enlarge and pushed the images of the other pilots to the side of the screen. On the map were two bright red dots, one stable and the other blinking. The stable dot marked Amarna while the flashing one indicated their own position above the Cairo airport.

"For right now, we are going to head South and then turn West towards Amarna once we get closer," she explained as she adjusted the bar to head in the direction that she wanted and also pushed out on it slightly, causing her to slowly ascend. "Also push out slightly on the bar, we need to gain some altitude if we want to be unnoticed."

Their replies went unheard to Evelyn, whose eyes were focused on the horizon before her. Her family was somewhere out there, because of a man that wanted revenge on the family and an creature that thought her a reincarnation. _Please mom, keep them safe until we get there. Saadia is dangerous, they all are. Please keep them safe until I can get there and read the incantation from the Book of Amun-Ra and send Yuja straight back to hell._

_I'm glad that I have John and everyone else with me to keep me sane, but I need the others too. I-I need Scott to hug me when I'm scared and Virgil to make sure I don't hyperventilate, and Alan to just be well, Alan. And I need Gordy because he's my other half, my partner in crime. We're a package deal. Can't have one without the other. We're one of those 'two peas in a pod' deals and without him I feel like part of myself is missing. But most of all, I need dad._


	23. Sahara Nights

**Chapter Twenty-Two- Sahara Nights**

Evelyn smiled and leaned back in the pilot's seat as the rotating blades behind her came to a stop. Though they had only been able to fly for a few hours, they were on their way. 

The sun was now below the horizon in the west, casting its last golden rays into the sky as she unclasped the fasting below her chin and pulled off her helmet. She set it on top of her backpack in the seat behind her as pushed herself up out of the ultra light, looking at the empty landscape around where they landed.

To the east, past Lady Penelope's ultra light, she could see the tops of the tree's that lined the Nile River several miles away, while to the west was the seemingly endless expanse that was the Sahara. 

Heaving a sigh, she walked around to the rear of the ultra light and flipped the switch above the engine, stopping any more gas from entering. She then began to walk to where John stood beside his ultra light, pulling down the zipper on the flight suit to where the necklaces she wore shown.

"Hey," she greeted as she walked up to her brother. John turned around from digging for something in his backpack and smiled at her, his expression that of a young child who had just gotten caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"Hey, Evie," he replied, leaning back against the second seat of the ultra light, blocking the backpack from view.

Evelyn crossed her arms over her chest and raised an eyebrow. 

"What were you looking for in you backpack?" she inquired.

"Nothing," John shrugged.

"Well, I know it's not nothing," she replied, biting her lip as she thought about what he could possibly be hiding. A few moments later, it hit her like a ton of bricks. "You brought chocolate, didn't you?"

John grinned sheepishly. Evelyn chuckled and shook her head. "You are a chocoholic, John."

John opened his mouth to reply, only to be interrupted by the whinnying of a horse. John's eyebrow's furrowed slightly as he and Evelyn began to glance around for the approaching rider.

"John! Evelyn!" Fermat yelled as he ran towards them, his feet kicking up sand as he ran. Tin-Tin and Lady Penelope a few seconds behind him. Evelyn grabbed the teen's shoulders in an attempt to steady him as he came to a stop before her and John.

"Where is he?" she asked, looking down at Fermat.

"Just on the other side of mine," Tin-Tin replied. Evelyn's head snapped up and looked towards the Malaysian girl before she released Fermat shoulder's and quickly walking around the rear of John's ultra light, towards where Tin-Tin's ultra light sat between Lady Penelope's and Fermat's. The rider was garbed in all black and was slowing his horse as he approached the group, a small gray hawk perched on his shoulder.

" **I assume you were looking for us?"** Evelyn asked as the Medjai pulled his horse to a stop and slid off the saddle. The hawk on his shoulder screeched as he walked forward, pulling down his face covering as he walked forward. He inclined his head as he came to a stop before the group.

" **Indeed,"** the Medjai replied, the corners of his mouth turning upward into a smile. **"I am** **Bomani** **, one of the many scouts assigned to this region to track your progress and report it to my superiors so that they may join you at night."**

Evelyn smiled towards the Medjai. **"A pleasure to meet you Bomani. How far away are your superiors?"**

" **When I last checked in with them, they were just over an hour behind me,"** Bomani explained, lifting his hand to his shoulder. The hawk jumped from his shoulder and onto his hand. **"If you will excuse me for a moment, I will use Tafne to inform them that I have reached you."**

He then turned around and walked back towards his horse, reaching into one of the saddlebags for what he needed to write a message. As he did so, Evelyn turned to the group behind her. 

"His name is Bomani and he is one of the many scouts on the lookout for us," she explained. "They are apparently roughly an hour behind him, so they should be here soon."

"'Scouts?'" Tin-Tin repeated. Evelyn nodded.

Evelyn turned around as the hawk screeched as he took off into the air and headed northwest. Bomani watched the hawk fly off into the distance for a few moments before walking back towards the group. 

**"With any luck, they should be here in an hour or so,"** he stated as he gazed at all five of them in turn, a small smile on his face. **"They have food and blankets with them. In the mean time, I will head over to the river and grab some wood to build a fire."**

" **Thank you Bomani,"** Evelyn replied as he walked back to his horse. The stallion snorted as their rider put his foot in the stirrup and pulled himself back up into the saddle. He then grabbed the rains, and set off around the ultra lights and towards the river in the distance.

"Where is he going?" Fermat asked as they watched the horse galloped towards the trees in the east.

"To get wood for a fire," Evelyn explained. "And food and blankets should be here in an hour or so."

"And I've already contacted base and let them know we landed," Lady Penelope added.

"So," Tin-Tin began, glancing around at the group. "Now what?"

Evelyn shrugged and looked towards John. 

"Any ideas?" she asked. Evelyn frowned at the small smile on his face. "One that doesn't involve chocolate?"

* * *

"Blah," Alan gagged as he bit into the hard, dry bread they had been given as their dinner. They had stopped and made camp for the night roughly half an hour prior and as with the nights prior, they were shoved to the ground on the outskirts of the camp with a pair of guards that would change every few hours.

"It's better than nothing, sprout," Virgil pointed out before biting into his own small loaf of bread, wincing at the hardness of it as he chewed.

"I know," Alan mumbled in reply, looking sadly down at his own bread before reluctantly taking another bit of it.

"This makes Scott's cooking look like elegant cuisine," Gordon teased, glancing over at his eldest brother. 

Jeff, Alan, and Virgil hid their smiles as Scott glared over at Gordon as he took a bite of his bread, only to wince at the hardness and rub his jaw as he chewed. Gordon shrugged and smiled sympathetically.

"Apparently Evie is not much better," Alan added, only for his face to fall after a few moments at the thought of his sister and the elder blond of the family. Though part of him was glad that they were not here, particularly Evelyn since Yuja and Saadia wanted her dead, he missed them both a great deal.

The two blonds had grown closer in the years following the Hood's attack. Alan would often call John for help with school work, particularly when finals rolled around, or just to talk period. Then he and Evelyn had always been close, seeing as they were the two youngest members of the family and, for a time, the only ones not involved in International Rescue.

"Alan?"

Alan looked up from his piece of bread at the sound of his father's voice and the hand on his arm. His light blue eyes locked on the blue-gray eyes of his father beside him.

"They'll be okay," Jeff said softly, smiling fondly at Alan. He then looked up and glanced around at his family and to where Kyleigh and Narmer sat off by themselves a short distance away before looking back at Alan. "And so will we."

"Yeah, Sprout. We just have to hold one till they get here," Scott added, putting his hand on his younger brother's shoulder and giving it a gentle squeeze. "Until then, why don't you finish your bread and then try to get some rest."

Scott then looked towards Gordon and Virgil. 

"You guys too," he added.

"You need sleep too, Scott," Virgil retorted, his expression serious as his honey-burnt eyes scanned his eldest brother. "How much water have you had tonight?"

Scott sighed and ran one of his bound hands through his sand filled hair. 

"One gulp," he replied, looking down at the sand in front of him. "And a small one at that."

"Scott-" Virgil sight, obviously frustrated with his older brother. He only stopped at what Scott was sure was a look from their father. He heard his father sigh before the sound of sloshing water as the large jug of water they had been given for the night was placed in front of him.

"Drink. Two gulps," he instructed, the tone of his voice leaving no room for argument. Scott glanced up from the jug before him towards his father's stern expression. He cringed and grabbed the mug before him, lifting it to his lips. After taking two long gulps from the little that was left in it, the cool water feeling extremely present as it wet his dry mouth. He then set it on the ground and whipped his mouth with his sleeve.

"Now," Jeff began, his expression softening as he glanced around at his four sons. "I want you all to get some sleep, alright? Even though we know help is on the way, it could be another day before the catch up to us and we don't want to be dead on our feet when they do."

As his brothers began to lay down in the sand, muttering good night to each other, Scott caught his father's eye.

"What about you?" he asked softly as Jeff ran his fingers through Alan's hair as the teen's eyes closed. Jeff reached over Alan and took his eldest son's hand.

"Just get some rest Scotty," he replied, squeezing his hand gently. "I'll be fine. You just rest."

Scott nodded, his shoulder's sagging slightly in defeat. He would normally fight his father and tell him that he was fine and that he should get some sleep, but the tone of his father's voice when he had told them all to get some sleep conveyed that it was not a suggestion, but an order. An order that was to not be questioned.

"Night dad," he whispered as he lay down in the sand, looking up at the stars that were beginning to appear in the quickly darkening night sky.

* * *

The Medjai had arrived where they had landed just over an hour after the sun had set and had been greeted by five hungry people gather around the large fire that Bomani had started. They had been given hot stew that had been made shortly after their arrival and provided thick, wool blankets for them to sleep on.

The stew, while not up to the quality of Onaha's food, was quite good for being in the middle of nowhere and Evelyn proudly stated that it was better than whatever she had eaten at the trading post she had stopped at on the way to Amarna. The blankets had been laid near the fire and shortly after eating their fill of stew, they laid down to sleep.

Evelyn laid on her back, holding up the pendants Gordon had given her on their birthday, the light of the fire gleaming of the metal. She had tried to fall asleep, but found that she couldn't and instead opted to look at the necklace. She could hear the few Medjai that were still awake moving around the camp, muttering softly as to not wake them.

Taymullah had come and talked to her while the stew had been cooking. He told her that they had had a scout that was not far behind Yuja, Saadia, and the Hood, but he had not reported since the day before and that when he had not reported, another scout was sent after him. He had received word that afternoon that the scout that had gone missing was found dead, throat slit and left face down in the sand.

They now knew that someone was after them and from the messages he was receiving from scouts, they were now quickening their pace towards Amarna. Taymullah had thought they had left the body as a warning, and Evelyn had the sickening feeling that he was right. Though part of her was immensely overjoyed at the thought that it had not been a member of her family that they had found.

"You miss him, huh?"

Evelyn turned her head towards the voice to see that Tin-Tin was looking towards her. She stopped fingering the pendants and tucked them back under the collar of her flight suit as she nodded.

"Probably more than he will ever know," she replied, looking towards the younger girl a few feet to her left. "He's my other half."

"And without him, you feel like part of you is missing," Tin-Tin stated. Evelyn's brow furrowed in confusion and she nodded slightly. How had she known that? She had never even told Gordon how she had felt. Tin-Tin notice her look of confusion and gave her a small smile. "How did I know? Because I feel the same way."

"About Alan?" Evelyn enquired, a smirk forming on her lips. Tin-Tin's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she looked down at the blanket beneath her and nodded. Evelyn's smirk turned into a triumphant grin as she rolled over and supported her weight on her elbow. "I knew it. I knew you liked him!"

On the other side of Tin-Tin, Fermat shifted in his sleep, muttering incoherently in his sleep. Both girl's glanced towards him for a few moments before looking back towards each other. ' _Opps_ ,' Evelyn mouthed.

Tin-Tin bit her lip to keep from laughing and Evelyn covered her mouth with her hand as she rolled back over onto her back. Evelyn removed her hand and smiled as she looked up at the sky above her head. She sighed and closed her eyes, hoping that maybe she would be able to get some sleep now.

"I saw you talking to Taymullah before dinner," Tin-Tin began, glancing towards the crackling fire just past her feet before looking back towards Evelyn. The elder girl's smile faded as she opened her eyes and turned her head to look towards Tin-Tin. "What exactly did he tell you?"

"They found a scout that had been tracking them for us dead," Evelyn replied softly, her fingers picking at the blanket beneath her. "His throat was slit. Taymullah thinks he was left as a warning for us."

"A warning?" she repeated. "A warning for what?

Evelyn was silent for a few moments. She placed her hands behind her head and looked up at the starry sky above them. 

"A warning of what is to come when we find them," she responded. "It seems we won't be able to get them back without a fight, and with the Medjai on our side, they'll be getting that fight."

Tin-Tin was silent for a few minutes and Evelyn thought the girl had finally fallen asleep, that was until she heard the Malaysian speak once more, so softly that Evelyn barely heard her. "They're lucky to have someone like you as their sister."

Evelyn said nothing, simply closed her eyes and tried to sleep once more. Lucky? Yeah right. They were captured as a ploy to draw her to them. They were in the middle of the Sahara, because of her. Well, they wanted her to come after them, and she was. They wanted a fight and they would get one, and she would fight for her family until her last breath and if she went down, hopefully she would be able to take Saadia and Yuja down with her.


	24. Visions of the Past

**Chapter Twenty Three- Visions of the Past  
** **September 12th, 2024**

The pillars lining the outer walls of the old, decaying temple were the only part of it that was in decent shape. The hieroglyphs had been worn away by years of sandstorms and several of the pillars had toppled over. This is where the captured Tracy's, Kyleigh and Narmer found themselves being led as the sun began to set in the west behind the temple, throwing them into its shadow.

Yuja and Saadia had disappeared into its depths when they had arrived, taking none with them. Narmer had translated the orders that Yuja had given and for some reason, he had told them that whatever they heard, not to come near them.

"Any idea where we are?" Jeff asked as those captured were given their nightly loaf of bread and jug of water and forced to sit down near one of the fallen pillars.

"None," Narmer replied, tearing into his stale loaf of bread. "But I can guarantee you that whatever Yuja and Saadia are doing in the temple, can't be good."

The group stopped eating and the guards around them stilled as they heard Yuja's voice echoing within the temple, followed shortly by Saadia shouting in Egyptian. Narmer set down the bread in his lap, his brow furrowing as he listened intently to Yuja's chanting.

"It's difficult to decipher. 'Memory.' 'Soul,'" he informed them as Yuja's chanting grew louder and Saadia continued to shout. "I think it is some sort of incantation."

"Like the one Evie was tricked into reading?" Gordon asked. The first incantation that he had heard about from the Book of the Dead had brought a three-thousand-year-old mummy to life. If it was another incantation from the Book that Yuja was currently chanting, then Gordon was positive that nothing good could come of it and that his twin would somehow be involved.

Narmer nodded slowly, his expression grim as he continued to listen to Yuja's voice echoing through the temple.

* * *

Evelyn bit her lip as she looked at the landscape below her, searching for a good spot to land for the night. She smiled as she spotted a fairly flat area to land. 

"Guys, 10 o'clock. Looks flat enough," she stated as she pulled back on the bar and the small craft began its descent. "Heading down."

As she leveled out and began to make a large oval around the area, the sand around her and the sound of the engine and the confirmation of those flying with her faded and was replaced with the throne room of the Royal Palace in Amarna.

_The room was once more filled those of higher status, along with her siblings and of course, her parents up of their thrones. Her golden mask was up over her face and she gripped her sai tightly in her hands as she glared at the women across from her and she knew that underneath her own mask, Meritaten was smirking at the princess. Her attention was torn away from her opponent as he father stood up from his throne. All eyes in the room turned towards the Pharaoh._

" _ **We are gathered here today, to witness a historic event,"**_ _Ramesses began, smiling around at the people before him._ _ **"These two women before us are both the best at wielding the sai. The both have experience and skill with sai and are widely known for it. Now it is time to see which of them is truly the better fighter by having them spare."**_

_As he finished, those in the room applauded the Pharaoh as he sat back down. He gave a slight nod towards Henuttawy, who smiled beneath her mask as she once more turned to face her opponent. Meritaten's cold eyes glimmered beneath her mask. She had caught the small exchanged between the pharaoh and his daughter and it only fueled her hatred for the princess. Soon all in Egypt would know was better with the sai, and it would not be Henuttawy._

_Ramesses clapped once and the two women took up a fighting stance. Beneath the mask, the smile disappeared from Henuttawy's face and was replaced with determination. She loathed the women before her, and her friend Yuja, with every fiber of her being. The man had been a nuisance since she was proclaimed a woman, always vying for her affections, and always being turned down. Though the more she turned him down, the more desperate he became in his attempts to win her hand in marriage. She knew that when her father announced her engagement to Rekhmire after one of the two women was proclaimed the best at wielding the sai, she would have to watch her back. Yuja was unstable, and she knew that he would be furious over the news._

_Henuttawy forced herself from her thoughts as her father clapped twice, signaling them to start. Meritaten growled and ran towards Henuttawy. The princess brought up her blades and blocked the attack and with a grunt pushed the women away before rushing at the women herself._

_Clang after clang rang through the throne room as the blades met in quick succession, neither of the two fighters able to gain any ground against each other for a few minutes. Henuttawy pushed Meritaten back and then swung her blade towards the women's chest. Meritaten leaned far back to where the floor seemed to be above her head as the blade swung past her before righting herself and blocking then oncoming blades._

_Meritaten then swung her leg around as Henuttawy charged towards he, causing the other women to fall backward and land hard on the ground. She went to push herself up only to stop when Meritaten's blades crossed inches above her throat. Henuttawy panted as she glared up at the women through her mask. Those watching applauded._

" _ **You need to be more flexible, Henuttawy,"**_ _Meritaten sneered as removed the blades from Henuttawy's neck._ _Ramesses stood from the throne as Meritaten removed her mask and stepped away from the princess._

" _ **Bravo, Meritaten.**_ _**You will go down in history as the best at wielding the sai,"**_ _he stated as Meritaten bowed towards the Pharaoh. Henuttawy pushed her mask back and stood to her feet as her father smiled towards Meritaten._

" _ **Thank you, my lord,"**_ _she replied, putting on a fake smile for her ruler until he turned his back to smile at her daughter. The glare that was now being sent her way was not missed as Ramesses hugged his eldest daughter._

" _ **Well done, Henuttawy,"**_ _he whispered as he hugged her tightly for a few moments. He then released her and turned to the audience. He motioned for_ _Rekhmire to stand and the young soldier did so, being clapped on the back by Henuttawy's brother as he stood. He walked forward and stood beside Henuttawy._ _ **"Now that the match is over, I have an important announcement to make. My lovely daughter Henuttawy has decided that tomorrow, she will take Rekhmire as her husband."**_

_As the room burst into applause and the women squealed in delight. Where he stood beside Meritaten, Yuja looked murderous._

* * *

John's brow furrowed as he watched as Evelyn continued to circle around the area she had spotted for them to land.

"Evie, is something wrong with the spot?" he asked. Nothing but silence met the airways. His heartbeat quickened. "Evie? Can you hear me?"

"John, something's happening. Look at her on the monitor," Tin-Tin instructed. John glanced down at the small image of his sister on the screen. She was simply staring into the air in front of her, not even blinking.

"It's as if she's in a trance," Lady Penelope stated softly. "Tin-Tin, could it possibly be the Hood doing this?"

"It could be," she replied with a small shrug.

"Do you think you can b-b-br-snap her out of it?" Fermat asked. John glanced down at the monitor. Beside the small image of his sister, who simply continued to stare into the air before her, Tin-Tin bit her lip, looking uncomfortable with the idea of using her powers on a friend. "Tin-Tin?"

He watched as Tin-Tin glanced up from the monitor, most likely towards Evelyn's craft, before looking back down and nodding hesitantly. John watched as she adjusted her craft for a moment before sliding her right hand out of the glove attached to the bar. 

She pulled down the zipper a little and grasped the chain around her neck, pulling her necklace out from underneath the flight suit. Grasping the crystal tightly in one hand, the other keeping her craft going straight, John watched on the screen as he pupil's turned into slit's like that of a cat and her eyes turned gold.

' _EVELYN! SNAP OUT OF IT!'_

John winced at the strength of the yell reverberating through his skull. From the way Fermat and Lady Penelope had winced, he wasn't the only one that had heard the mental yell emitted from the Malaysian girl. 

Though the radio, he heard a sharp gasp as Evelyn blinked and came out of the trance, panting heavily. He heard a sigh of relief from Tin-Tin and saw her eyes return to normal and she had replaced her hand into the glove, the necklace still visible.

"Evie, you alright?" John asked, glancing up from the monitor to see that her craft was now lower to the ground as she prepared to land.

"Yeah," she replied breathlessly as her craft touched the ground. She then reached forward and hit the switch to kill the engine, before leaning back in her seat as the craft slowed to a stop. "Thanks, Tin."

Tin-Tin said nothing but gave her a small smile in response as Evelyn looked towards the screen. John removed his gaze from the screen as he guided his ultra light to the ground, shaking as it touched the ground.

"Evie, what happened?" John asked as he leaned forward at hit the switch to turn off the engine, looking at his sister's image on the monitor as he did.

"Vision. Everything just faded from around me," she replied, pulling down the zipper on her flight suit as she sat back in the seat. "I'll explain more once all of you are on the ground."

John nodded just before her image on the screen went black. He then reached forward and pushed the button on his own monitor, turning it off. He stepped out of the craft, undid the fastening beneath his chin and pulled off his helmet, setting it down on the second seat of the ultra light. He then leaned against the seat, running a hand through his light blond hair.

_What in the world is going on? As if her dreams were bad enough, but now she's having them during the day and can't snap out of them. I know that one that Scott told me about really freaked him out, though luckily he was able to keep a cool head and help Evie and save the freaking out till he told me about it. Why is this happening to Evie? As if life wasn't difficult enough without having to worry about mummies of all things. But according to Alex, raising the dead is apparently a family trait._

"Hey."

John started slightly and looked up to see his sister standing before him. Though she wore a small smile, John could see that the vision had taken its toll. Her skin was pale and had a slight green tinge to it. John pushed himself away from the ultra light.

"You alright?" he asked softly, setting a hand on her shoulder and giving it a comforting squeeze.

Evelyn looked down and shrugged. 

"I - I don't know anymore," she replied. "I thought I was done with them because I haven't had a dream or vision since I left Amarna. Apparently, I was wrong."

John looked up as he heard footsteps to see Tin-Tin and Fermat approaching them with Lady Penelope not far behind them. Evelyn smiled towards Tin-Tin. "Thanks for snapping me out of it."

"You're welcome," she replied softly.

"So it was another vision?" Lady Penelope inquired. Evelyn nodded, crossing her arms over chest. "Any idea why it happened now?"

Evelyn shook her head. "No."

"Evie, what happened?" John asked, squeezing her shoulder gently as he looked at her.

"I saw the last few hours of Henuttawy's life," she replied. "I know why Yuja and Meritaten killed her."

"What-" John began to ask, only to be interrupted by the sound of approaching horses. They all looked past Fermat's ultralight to see the Medjai riding towards them, their group even larger than it had been when they had met up with them the night before.

As they moved away from John's ultra light to greet the Medjai, John shot Evelyn a look that clearly told her ' _we'll finish this conversation later_.' 

When they reached the Medjai, they were already beginning to dismount. Beside Taymullah, a familiar face smiled towards them as he dismounted.

"Kaphiri? How did you manage to catch up?" Evelyn inquired as walked forward to greet the Medjai, John, Tin-Tin, Fermat, and Lady Penelope a few steps behind her, all looking surprised to see him again so soon. Kaphiri smiled towards them.

"Rode through the night," he replied. "Caught up with them a few hours ago."

"Well, you have a very fine horse then," she smiled. Kaphiri nodded and patted the horse on the neck, a fond smile on his face.

"Yes, Qetesh has been my companion since I was a young boy," he explained. Around them, the Medjai began setting up camp for the night. Kaphiri patted his horse once more before waving his hand as he looked back towards Evelyn. "Anyway, what exactly kept you in the air so long as we approached. You were circling for a good bit of time."

"I had another vision, one that I couldn't snap out of," Evelyn replied, reaching back and scratching the back of her neck. "Luckily Tin-Tin was able to snap me out of it, or we would probably still be circling."

"I will want to hear about this later," he stated, his expression serious for a moment before his smile returned. "But it has obviously taken a lot out of you, so we will talk after dinner. Once you've explained it to me, I am going to sleep, something I haven't done since I left Cairo."

* * *

"You hear that?" Narmer asked, sitting up a bit straighter as he glanced at the guards around them. Yuja and Saadia had been in the temple for over an hour, the chanting and shouting never ceasing. Kyleigh was asleep beside him while the Tracy's sat around them, all but Alan that is.

Alan lay a few feet behind his father, back resting against one of the fallen pillars as he slept. The blond blinked several times to shake off the last ruminants of sleep. He stayed silent and watched his family before him. Even though they were captured, at least they were together.

"Hear what?" he heard Gordon asked as Alan closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose in an attempt to become more alert.

"Nothing," Virgil stated, looking towards the temple, which was no silent. "They've stopped."

Alan opened his eyes as he listened and sure enough, the chanting and shouting had stopped. Perhaps it was the absence of it that had awoken him. Alan sighed and leaned his head back against the pillar, looking up at the night sky above him. With all the time that they had spent so far treading through the desert, home was beginning to seem like a distant memory.

'HISS'

Alan's head snapped up and he glanced around for the source of the noise. He spotted its perpetrator just to the left of his leg. His blue eyes widened as they landed on the brown scales on the cobra that had slithered up beside his leg. The large snake hissed at him and reared, extending its hood.

"Dad!" Alan called, glancing up from the snake to see his family turn towards him as the snake lunged at his ankle.

He screamed as he felt the fangs pierce the flesh of his ankle. He heard his family yell as he leaned his head back against the pillar, his eyes screwed shut as he arched his back. He felt the presence of the snake removed and Narmer and several unfamiliar voices yelling in Egyptian as he sensed movement on either side of him.

He opened his eyes as he felt a hand reach back and support his head. His father was on his right with Scott at his shoulder, while Gordon and Virgil were on his left, all of their eyes filled with concern, worry, and fear as they looked down at him. While his father's left hand supported his head and soothingly rubbed the back of his neck, his right went up to cup his cheek.

"Alan, Virgil's going to take a look at it, alright?" he stated, glancing up towards Virgil as he moved from where he had been kneeling beside Gordon to kneel before Alan's ankle. He felt Scott and Gordon each take one of his hands and gripped them tightly. Alan cried out as he felt the leg of his uniform being pushed up.

"It's alright. You'll be fine," Jeff whispered, using his thumb to wipe away the tears that fallen from Alan's eyes.

Virgil inspected the bite for a few moments before looking towards where his family knelt. 

"It's not as deep as it could have been, seeing as the fangs had to go through the leg of his uniform," he remarked. "But it still got him. It's already beginning to swell."

" **Ah, I see Uto has done her job,"** a cold, female voice stated in Egyptian as Saadia stepped out of the shadow's of the temple and grinned triumphantly towards the Tracy's. Yuja stood behind her, smiling. Saadia looked the same, but her stance and the air about her was different, colder. The snake that Narmer had kicked into the temple slithered up beside her as the Hood also stepped out of the shadows, looking slightly confused as to what had happened.

" **You mean you set that snake on him?"** Narmer cried in disbelief. The women smiled cruelly towards him.

" **Indeed,"** she replied, reaching down and lifted the snake off of the ground, and began to gently stroke the creature's neck. **"I cannot have Henuttawy's family happy."**

"Henuttawy?" Narmer repeated, looking slightly confused for a moment before being replaced with understanding, followed by horror. The incantation and the few words he had been able to make out suddenly made sense. "My God."

The women before him grinned as he stumbled back and collapsed to the ground a few feet away from the Tracy's. Kyleigh moved to kneel beside him and set a hand on his shoulder, her eyes full of concern for the man she loved.

"Narmer," Jeff called. The Egyptian turned towards him to see the Tracy patriarch running a hand through his youngest son's blond hair, whose face was lined with pain as they all looked towards Narmer. "What did Saadia say?"

Narmer swallowed. 

"She set the snake on him. Seems it is her pet. And that is not Saadia," he paused, glancing over his shoulder to see her still smiling towards them. He swallowed once more and looked back towards the Tracy's. "It's Meritaten. The incantation, it somehow brought her back. She's no longer just the reincarnation of the women, she _is_ the women."


	25. Sandstorm

 

**Chapter Twenty Four –** **Sandstorm  
** **September 13th, 2024**

Evelyn sighed as she checked the gas level, which would hopefully be enough for the day. She had explained the vision shortly after landing the evening before and in the end, she was left with more questions than answers. Even if Kaphiri did know why she could not snap out of the vision as she had her previous ones, she never found out. For shortly after she finished explaining what had happened, the exhausted Medjai had fallen asleep by the fire. She didn't blame him, the guy had ridden through the night in order to catch up.

"Evelyn."

She turned around from looking at the gas gauge to see Kaphiri approaching her, a small grin playing at his lips. 

"We have just received word from a scout that the city is less than a day away," he began. "We will ride at full speed behind you and with any luck, we should all reach Amarna early this afternoon. And we have also received word that Yuja and company should also reach the city today."

"Great," she smiled. "And we should be in the air in a few minutes."

"I will go tell Taymullah," he replied, turning to head towards where the horses had been secured for the night. He stopped a few feet away and glanced over his shoulder to smile towards Evelyn. "Good luck."

"You too!" she called as he continued on his way. She then turned back to her ultra light and grabbed her helmet and goggles. She pulled the goggles on and adjusted them so they were comfortable before pulling on her helmet and securing the strap below her chin. Once it was secured and comfortable, she sat down in the pilot's seat.

She patted the small pocket on the right leg of her flight suit, feeling the crinkling paper that Alex had given her beneath the fabric. Evelyn then reached forward and pushed the first button on the monitor. The screen flickered to life, the other four boxes on the screen already filled with the faces of her companions.

"Kaphiri just told me we should reach the city early this afternoon," she stated as she reached forward and flicked the switch, the engine rumbling to life behind her. As the craft began to move forward, she inserted her hands into the gloves attached to the bar.

"Any word on where they are?" John asked as she pushed out on the bar and the craft lifted into the air. Evelyn then leveled out the ultra light before she pushed the bar right and leaned left.

"They should also reach the city this afternoon," she replied as she began to circle the area and glanced over her shoulder to see John's ultra light lifting off the ground. "Hopefully we'll beat them there."

"If we do, we can ambush them," Tin-Tin stated as her own ultra light lifted into the air and John began to circle the area behind Evelyn.

"As long as we get them back is fine with me," John said softly. Evelyn glanced down at her monitor and gave him a small smile as she reached forward and enabled the GPS, which he returned. As Tin-Tin also began to circle the area, Lady Penelope's craft lifted off the ground.

"And we will," Evelyn began as she pushed the bar to the right and leaned left, turning her craft southwest before straightening out as Fermat lifted off the ground. "We have the Medjai on our side. If it's a fight they want, they're going to get it."

* * *

In the long hours after Alan had been bitten by the Egyptian cobra, the blond had quickly gone from bad to worse. The little venom that had been injected into him had quickly begun to do what it was supposed to do. Virgil had pulled the leg of the flight suit back down to protect the wound, for he doubted that the people that had set a snake on his younger brother would give them a bandage to protect it. It had quickly swollen and within a few hours, the skin around the wound had begun to blister.

When they were forced to move out the next morning, with some help from Scott and Virgil, Jeff had been able to get Alan onto his back as securely as possible, seeing as the youngest Tracy was in no shape, physically or mentally, to walk on his own. The teen had become increasingly lethargic within a few hours due to his rising fever, though he did not start vomiting until they had left the temple far behind them.

A grimace crossed Jeff's face as he shifted the teen on his back, who simply continued to lay his head against his father's shoulder as the group walked under the hot sun. The Tracy patriarch could clearly hear his son wheezing as he tried to breath as he lay against his father. Jeff glanced towards Alan and noticed that his skin now had a gray tinge to it as the blond lifted his head and met his father's gaze. His mouth was clamped shut and his weary blue eyes seemed to be pleading for him to stop.

"Scott," Jeff called as he stopped walking. His eldest was quickly behind Alan and Jeff, putting his hands under the teen arms as he vomited off to the side, barely missing his father's shoulder. While Alan continued to heave up the little that had been in his stomach, Gordon moved to stand beside Scott and began to rub soothing circles on the blonds' back.

As Gordon moved, Virgil hurried around his father to look into Alan's face, being careful to avoid standing in what his younger brother had just thrown up. With a gloved hand, he wiped away the tears that had leaked out of Alan's eyes as he vomited. He then cupped Alan's cheek with his ungloved hand and cleaned his mouth with the other.

"It's alright, Alan," he soothed. "You've just got to hang in there until help reaches us."

Alan opened his eyes to look at Virgil, his blue eyes showing his exhaustion from what the snake venom was putting him through. He nodded slightly, leaning into Virgil's hand as his eyes closed once more. With his eyes closed and the gray tinge disappearing from his skin, Alan rested his head on his father's shoulder as he had before he had vomited. Virgil smiled at him sadly and removed his hand from his cheek. He pressed the back of his ungloved hand to the teen's forehead and frowned at the heat radiating from Alan's skin.

"Virgil."

Virgil removed his gaze from his youngest brother to meet his father's eyes. Jeff glanced towards Alan, his blue-grey eyes full of worry for his youngest son.

"How is he?" in inquired as he stepped to the side to avoid the vomit before continuing forward, Scott and Gordon coming around to walk on his other side.

"His fever is rising," he reported quietly, running a hand through Alan's damp blond hair as he walked beside his father. He pressed his fingers against the teen's neck and frowned as he felt the rapid pulse beneath beat against his fingers. His frown deepened as Alan shivered just after he had removed his hand from his neck. Virgil rubbed his hand up and down Alan's arm until he stopped shivering. He sighed as he tore his eyes away from the teen and looked at his father. "If he doesn't get anti-venom in a few hours, he could die."

Virgil watched as all color left his father and brother's faces as they stopped in their tracks to look at him. They all knew that the chances of getting their hands on anti-venom were slim to none, and even if John and Evelyn reached them in time, they might not have the anti-venom with them. Footsteps behind them alerted them to the presence of Kyleigh and Narmer, both looking towards the front of the party in curiosity.

The Tracy's glanced back at them for a moment before also looking forward and seeing that the party had come to a stop. A camel moved at the front of the party and a number of large structures were visible on the horizon. The city of Amarna. One of the guards at the front of the group shouted and pointed to the east.

Jeff tore his gaze away from the city to look in the direction the man was pointing. A large, black mass was moving on the horizon, heading towards the city, a large cloud of dust trailing behind them.

"The Medjai," Narmer whispered as the group continued to watch the large black mass. Narmer looked away from the mass as one of the riders towards the front of the party shouted.

" **In the sky my lord!"** the man shouted, pointing to the area above and in front of the Medjai. **"The Medjai are following something in the sky!"**

Narmer looked to where the man was pointing in the sky to see five dark shapes flying towards the city, at least two hundred feet above the Medjai and a mile or two ahead of them. They were much too large and moving too quickly to be birds. "What in the world?"

"Narmer?" Jeff asked, tearing his gaze away from the Medjai to look towards the younger man behind him.

Narmer pointed to the five shapes in the sky as they moved directly in line with the party. Jeff followed his hand and after a few seconds of searching found the five shapes that he had been pointing at. Beside him, his son's and Kyleigh did the same. Jeff frowned for a few minutes as he studied their shape, a shape that was very familiar to him after seeing his daughter fly around the island several times.

"Ultralights," Jeff stated, looking towards his sons. He saw smiles form on their faces as they looked back towards the ultralights.

"It's Evie and John," Gordon smiled, raising a hand over his eyes to see the ultralights better, hoping that he could possibly tell, though it was impossible to due to the distance between them, which one was his twin.

"And it looks like Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Lady Penelope came too," Virgil added as the group looked towards the ultralights on the horizon.

"Uh-oh," Kyleigh muttered. The Tracy's looked away from the ultralights and glanced back at her. She nodded for them to look towards the front of the party. Yuja had climbed off the camel with Meritaten and the Hood a few feet behind him. They stood facing east, just off to the side of the camels.

Yuja raised his arms, as he did so the ground before his crackled loudly before the sand rose high into the air, forming a giant wall of sand that went up several hundred feet. The wall hovered in place for a few moments until Yuja pressed his palms forward and the wall quickly moved east, towards the ultralights and the Medjai.

* * *

"Yes! I see the city!" Evelyn reported happily. After several hours of flying, she had been able to make out the buildings of Amarna on the horizon. She glanced down at the monitor to look at the map and smiled at the readout. "Just over eighteen miles to go. We should be there in about an hour."

She pushed the button on the monitor and the map disappeared, the faces of her companions sliding back into place. "With any luck, we could head home with them later today."

"Going home sounds good," Tin-Tin replied.

"Yeah, it does," John added, a small grin playing at his lips.

"And I'm guessing one of Onaha's cookies sound good to you too huh?" Evelyn teased. She smiled as her older brother's cheeks turned a light pink and he mumbled under his breath as he looked away from the monitor. 

The smile disappeared from her face when she heard something that was most defiantly not them. Her brow furrowed in confusion. _What in the world was that?_

"Did you guys hear that?" Tin-Tin asked.

"Yeah," John replied, glancing down at the monitor. "Anybody know what it was?"

John watched the screen as his companions shrugged in response. It was the strangest sound. It sounded almost like the sound of thunder, but yet completely different. He watched as Fermat looked at the landscape to their left before looking right. He watched as the teen's eyes widened behind his glasses.

"I-I think I know," he replied. John looked away from the screen and to the west. His blue eyes widened at the site of the wall of sand coming swiftly towards them.

"What in the world?" he heard Lady Penelope ask. In the center of the wall of sand, a shape of a face was formed and it glared at them.

"I think this is what Alex warned us about!" Evelyn yelled as the mouth of the face opened a roared as it closed the distance between them, capturing them in the faces mouth of sand.

The group yelled as the wall of sand hit them, scratching the little-exposed skin on their faces and entering their mouths as they yelled. As the wall of sand engulfed them, the landscape around them disappeared from view and making it impossible to see the ultralight in front of them.

"We need to land!" Evelyn screamed into the mic over the howling wind that swirled around them.

"Obviously!" John yelled in reply as he carefully began to take his ultra light towards the ground, hoping that they wouldn't hit each other as they tried to land.

* * *

"Oh my God," Kyleigh muttered as she clapped her hands over her mouth, watching in horror as the wall of sand sped towards their rescuers, hiding them from view. "He's trying to kill them by making them crash."

She glanced up at Narmer when he set a hand on her shoulder and noticed he had gone pale. Though neither of them were as pale as the Tracy's. First Alan had been bitten by a cobra, whose venom was slowly beginning to kill him. Now they had to watch as Yuja attempted to take two members of their family out at once and they were helpless to stop it.

"Scott no! Virgil!"

Kyleigh looked away from the wall of sand at Jeff's yell and her brown eyes widened further as she spotted the eldest Tracy son. He had broken past the guards and now ran towards Yuja with Virgil not far behind him, yelling for his eldest brother to stop. Jeff grabbed Gordon's shoulder to stop him from running after his brothers. The guards jumped off their camels as they passed and began running after them. Narmer removed his hand from her shoulder and began to run after Scott and the guards, his expression determined.

"Narmer!" she yelled. She knew he heard her, but he did not acknowledge and continued to run after Scott and Virgil, pushing down some guards as he went. The guards picked themselves up and drew their swords as they ran after him. Kyleigh growled in frustration. The idiots were going to get themselves killed! She caught Jeff's eye and saw the same fear and frustration she felt mirrored in his eyes.

Just feet away from Yuja, Scott fell to his knees and clutched his head, his scream of pain echoing across the landscape. Kyleigh, Gordon, and Jeff, with Alan on his back, began to jog towards his eldest son as Virgil knelt down beside him, yelling for the Hood to stop using his powers. His response was a cold, cruel laugh.

Losing his focus due to the noise around him, Yuja growled and let down the wall of sand to glare at the Hood. Scott's screaming ceased as the Hood was lifted into the air, looking down at Yuja in fear. The man's arm was outstretched as he held the Malaysian man in the air, Meritaten grinning beside him.

" **This is your second warning,"** Yuja growled as the Hood continued to hover a few feet off the ground. Though he could not understand what Yuja was saying, the Hood understood the meaning perfectly by the look on the Egyptian's face. **"Your usefulness is coming close to its end. One more distraction like that, and I will kill you."**

Scott leaned against Virgil as the two watched the exchange, glancing back for a second as Narmer was grabbed by the guards a few feet away from them. Yuja glanced over towards him as Kyleigh, Jeff, and Gordon stopped a few feet behind where Narmer was being held. Yuja dropped his hand and simultaneously the Hood dropped hard to the ground.

" **Release him,"** he ordered. The guards holding Narmer let go of his arms and pushed him to the ground. Yuja smirked as Kyleigh ran around them and dropped to the sand beside Narmer. **"Return to your camels. We make for the city with haste. We must reach the city before they do."**

" **Yes, my lord,"** they replied before he and Meritaten headed back towards their camels with the Hood a few yards behind them, glaring at Yuja's back. As one of the guards that had come after them went to retrieve the camels, Jeff and Gordon make their way to where Virgil was helping Scott stand, the younger of the two mumbling under his breath.

"Stupid, stubborn, idiot," Virgil grumbled. "You could have gotten yourself killed!"

Jeff put a hand on Scott's arm and giving it a gentle squeeze. Scott glanced up at him for a moment before becoming interested in his feet. 

"You alright?" he inquired.

Scott looked up at his father and nodded. 

"Yeah, I'm alright," he replied before looking back down. "But John and Evie probably aren't."

"I know that you just wanted to stop him from hurting them," Jeff began. "But getting yourself killed in the process won't accomplish anything."

"Not to mention they would probably find a way to bring you back just so they could kill you themselves for getting yourself killed," Gordon smiled. Jeff glanced over at his second youngest and shook his head, chuckling.

"Yeah, I know," Scott replied softly, looking up from his feet and smiling towards his father and brothers. "Sorry."

"And you shouldn't be worrying about them," Narmer added, the Tracy's turned around to look at him as he approached, hand in hand with Kyleigh. "Yuja is ordering the group to move faster, telling them we have to get to the city before they do. Which means that there are still people left to follow."

Jeff looked to the east. The mass of Medjai had come to a stop, the cloud of dust behind them beginning to settle. With so many miles in between, it was impossible to tell if the ultralights were somewhere within the mass of black.

"So it's possible that they are fine?" Virgil asked.

"They're probably coughing the dirt out of their mouths right now, but yes, it is possible that they could be alright," he replied. Kyleigh squeezed his hand and smiled up at him, glad that he could give the family a little bit of hope. Narmer squeezed her hand in return and smiled down at her.

"And for even more good news," Narmer began, a grin spreading across his face. "It seems the Hood has pissed Yuja off once before and is currently working on Yuja's last nerve. He was not too happy with him for what he did, though that is probably obvious with the way he was lifted off the ground. But with any luck, he may be dead before we reach the city."

"With the way our luck has been so far, I doubt we'll get that lucky," Gordon said as the guard returned with the camels and yelled for them to start walking.

As the group began to move forward towards the city once more and the guards resumed their places around them, Alan groaned and lifted his head. The blond blinked wearily towards Virgil beside him. Scott was on his other side and looking down at their youngest brother in seconds.

"Hey sprout," Virgil greeted softly, running a hand through the teens damp blond hair as they walked. "How are you doing?"

Alan simply shook his head, fighting his dropping eyes as he looked up at his brothers. His eyes closed and he tensed, a grimace forming on his features. Virgil sighed and once more ran his hand through the teen's hair, reminding him that his brothers were still there for him. 

He glanced towards the black mass to the east, hoping that his brother and sister were alright and would get to them soon, and hoping that they had brought the anti-venom with them.


	26. Caught Off Guard

**Chapter Twenty Five-** **Caught Off Guard**

"Oh thank God," Evelyn muttered as the sandstorm dissolved and fell to the ground, leaving a small cloud of dust in its wake. Thankfully none of them had collided as they landed. She reached forward and shut off the engine before spitting out a mouth full of sand.

"Everyone alright?" she heard Lady Penelope ask. She heard the others say that they were fine before stating so herself before pulling off her helmet. She then set it down on the seat behind her and pulled down her goggles, letting them dangle around her neck. Evelyn stood and looked around to see that they had landed very close together and only a few feet were between John and Tin-Tin's crafts.

She spit out a bit of sand as she walked over to where John leaned against his ultra light, rinsing his mouth out with water to get rid of the sand. He spotted her as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve and smiled at her.

"So much for not being noticed," he stated as she stood beside him and leaned against his craft, watching as Tin-Tin handed a bottle of water to Fermat and Lady Penelope before walking over to them.

"I just wonder why he stopped," she said, handing a bottle of water to Evelyn before undoing the cap and taking a long drink from her own. Evelyn looked down at her bottle of water as she unscrewed the sealed lid. It was a very good question. Why did Yuja stop the sandstorm? Unless he was distracted by something or someone, he most likely would have kept it up longer than he had.

"Why do I have a feeling that Scott had something to do with it?" John asked after a few moments.

Evelyn laughed softly. "Because he probably did. I'm sure this gave him yet another excuse for wanting to punch Yuja."

"If it wasn't something that could get him killed, I'd say go for it," Lady Penelope smiled.

Evelyn smiled as she looked towards Amarna on the horizon. Now that they knew they were being followed, they would probably go as quickly as they could to reach the city before them. She heaved a sigh before drinking the last of the water in the bottle. She then pushed herself away from John's ultra light.

"Everyone look over their ultralight. If you spot something off, yell for me," she instructed before walking back towards her own craft, setting the empty bottle down on the back seat and began to check the wings for any damage.

* * *

Roughly an hour and a half after the sandstorm found the group of flyers landing on the outskirts on the east side of the city, opposite of where they had seen the camels tied up on the other side, their riders nowhere in sight. Luckily after their forced landing, nothing had been damaged and they were able to take off once more with the Medjai a few minutes behind them.

Evelyn pushed the bar slightly to the right at the front wheel of the ultralight touched the ground before reaching forward and hitting the switch to turn off the engine. She pulled the bar towards her slightly and the two rear wheels touched the ground as the craft began to slow to a stop. She sat back in her seat and sighed. They had made it. Even though they had not beaten Yuja to the city, they had still made it.

As John announced that he was now on the ground, Evelyn reached forward and turned off the monitor before pulling off her helmet. She pulled the goggles up over her head as she stepped out of the ultralight before putting them inside her helmet. She glanced towards the smaller buildings near her, the same buildings she had seen when she had first visited Amarna.

As John's craft came to a stop several feet to the left of her own, she set down her helmet in the seat she had previously occupied and began to unzip her back pack. She glanced over at him as he stepped out of the ultralight and set down his helmet and goggles in the front seat. He shifted uncomfortably before walking over to her.

"Any idea where a good place to go to the bathroom would be?" he asked as he stood beside her.

Evelyn laughed, shaking her head slightly. 

"Try on the other side of that building," she suggested, pointing to one of the houses along the outskirts not far from them. "And I'll go shut off the gas for you."

"Thanks, Evie," he smiled, hurrying off in the direction she had pointed as Fermat landed several feet behind Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin. Evelyn smiled towards the two as Lady Penelope glanced up from the monitor on her craft where she was most likely telling those back on the island that they had landed. Evelyn then looked to the north as she walked over to the rear of John's ultralight and shut off the gas, smiling as she spotted the Medjai approaching the city.

Evelyn then walked back to her own ultralight, unzipped the backpack and pulled out the Book of Amun-Ra, using its spine as a handle to carry it. She glanced up towards the ally away several yards from her craft as she walked around to turn off the gas on her own ultralight and frowned as she spotted movement in the shadows. She turned off the gas and with the Book in hand, she moved away from her ultralight and stopped several feet away from the ally. What in the world had she seen?

Just as she was about to turn away from the ally and go talk to Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin, the ultralights disappeared from around her and the city before her turned from crumbling ruins to bustling paradise. With the Book of Amun-Ra still clutched tightly in her hand, she moved forward and walked down the alley, smiling as the other people on their greeted her.

As with the first time she entered Amarna, she found the same young man that she identified as Henuttawy's older brother emerge into the ally a few yards ahead of her. Unlike the last time, though, he was not smiling at her. His expression showed his relief at finding her. When he reached her, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her along behind him. Evelyn gasped at the touch. If this was a vision, why could she feel his hand around her wrist?

" **Henuttawy, where have you been?"** he asked, glancing back at her as they quickly walked through the crowds and towards the center of the city. Evelyn opened her mouth but closed it after a few seconds, having no idea how to reply to him.

Amun-her-khepeshef sighed in frustration as they entered the square at the center of the city. He stopped near the gates to the palace and turned around to look at her, releasing her wrist. **"I've been looking for you for almost an hour. Father was about ready to send out the Medjai. Where have you been?"**

" **Around,"** she replied, reaching up and scratching the back of her neck. **"What's going on anyway?"**

He laughed and nodded towards something in the square behind her. **"Turn around and you will find out."**

Evelyn frowned at him before slowly turning around. She let out a gasp at the women before her, her face inches from her own. Meritaten grinned at her as the vision faded around them and the city was once again in ruins. **"Hello, Henuttawy."**

"Evelyn?"

Before she could look in the direction her father's voice had come from, searing pain engulfed her as Meritaten plunged the dark knife deep into Evelyn's stomach. Meritaten smiled deviously as Evelyn glanced down at the blade in her stomach. She yelped as the blade was yanked out of her gut.

To her left, she could vaguely hear the yells of her father and brothers as she stepped back. She dropped the Book of Amun-Ra to clutch her stomach. She fell to her knees, her breathing labored as she watched Meritaten grin triumphantly at the blood covered knife, the same knife that had been used to kill Henuttawy.

" **Déjà vu, isn't it?"** Meritaten grinned as she bent down and picked up the gleaming gold book. **"The Book of Amun-Ra. My, someone has been busy."**

" **Meritaten,"** Yuja called. Evelyn's eyes followed Meritaten for a few moments as she walked towards where Yuja stood a few feet to the left. However, her pain filled emerald eyes did not stay on them very long. Instead, they landed on her captured family members just beyond them.

She could make out the blurry faces of her father and brothers, her only younger brother on her father's back. She looked at their horror filled faces for several moments before her eyes closed tightly against the pain. She heard their yells as they struggled against their captors, though she could no longer make out any words. Just waves of sound. Her breaths were coming in short gasps as she fell back against the sand. The pain was overwhelming. The yells of her family began to fade away as she was left to die in the sand just outside the palace gates.

* * *

All hope that Gordon had been feeling when he heard his father yell his twins name disappeared when the guard led him beside his father and he finally saw her. He watched as Meritaten plunged the blade into his twin. His heart stopped and for a moment he stopped breathing, his green eyes going wide in horror.

"EVELYN!" he screamed. Around him, heard his father and siblings do the same. He shifted and pulled, trying desperately to shake off the hands of the guards, all the while his eyes not leaving his twin who had now fallen to her knees, clutching her stomach.

"Evie?" a voice croaked to his right. Gordon glanced over to see that Alan had lifted his head and was looking around at them all, confusion in his weary blue eyes. Jeff tore his eyes away from his stabbed daughter to the blond teen on his back. He watched as Alan blinked a few times, looking in the direction Jeff had been looking moments before closing his eyes and laying his head back down, not able to make any sense of all that was going on around him.

"EVIE!" he yelled as she finally looked towards them, her own green eyes filled with pain. After a few seconds of her staring at them, she closed against the pain and he watched as she fell back to where she lie down in the sand. Gordon continued to struggle against his captor and he knew that all but his father, who carried an extremely pale Alan on his back, were doing the same.

"NO!" he yelled as he his captor began to pull him towards the doorway to the temple behind them. His feet made deep grooves in the sand as he was pulled back towards the temple. Gordon continued to struggle against the tight grip on his arms. "NO! NO! EVIE!"

He continued to struggle against his captor as he was pulled into the temple and was not longer able to see his twin. Tears streamed down his cheeks.

"EVELYN!"

His scream echoed in the entrance chamber of the temple before the echoes of sobbing filled its place.


	27. Memories of a Lifetime

**Chapter Twenty-Six-** **Memories of a Lifetime**

John sighed as he walked back towards the ultra lights. Fermat had landed and was turning off the gas to his ultralight and Kaphiri had just arrived, the rest of the Medjai not far behind him. He frowned as he reached his ultralight and slung his backpack over his shoulders. Where had Evelyn gone? Once the backpack was on, he walked to the rear of his ultralight and saw that she had turned off the gas for him, but where had she gone after that?

He continued to look around the area that they had landed as he may his way over to where Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin were finishing up a call back to those on the island. Tin-Tin said goodbye to her parents before the connection was cut. She smiled at him for a moment before frowning.

"Where's Evie?" she asked, glancing around the area as he had moments before. Penelope looked up from the monitor and looked between the two with a slight frown on her face.

"I was about to ask you the same thing," he replied slowly, all three of them looking around the area for any sign of Evelyn. Just as Fermat walked over to where they stood around Lady Penelope's ultralight, yells echoed through the city.

"That sounded like Gordon," John stated as he began to run towards the alley that would lead him to the center of the city with Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin a few steps behind him.

"I-I'll s-s-s-wait here for Kaphiri," Fermat offered. John glanced back at him as he ran and offered the bespectacled teen a grateful smile.

He continued to follow the yells towards the center of Amarna, listening as they began to fade away. He slowed to a stop as he emerged into the main square and glanced around for any sign of his family. His father and brothers were nowhere in sight, and neither were their captors. His blue eyes widened as he spotted a figure lying in the sand outside the palace gates, her breathing coming in short gasps.

"Evie!" he yelled as he ran towards her, his feet kicking up a cloud of sand behind him. Her left hand was on her stomach while her right was pulling at the pocket on her pant leg, her eyes closed in pain.

"No, no, no, no, no," John muttered as he dropped to his knees on her right. He looked to where her left hand lay on her stomach and paled at the sight of the blood seeping through the fabric of the flight suit.

He heard Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin stop dead behind him, but he did not pay them any mind as he grabbed his sister's right hand, pulling it away from the pocket. His left hand grasped her right tightly and with his right, he cupped her cheek. Her eyes opened slightly to reveal a sliver of the green eyes beneath.

"J-John?" she whispered, looking at him for a moment before closing her eyes once more.

"It's okay," he soothed, blinking to get rid of the tears forming in his eyes. "You're gonna be fine. You'll be okay."

"P-p-pocket…n-note," she mumbled, her labored breathing making it difficult to speak. "R-r-read it."

John frowned. "Evie, what?"

"S-s-spell," she replied, her eyes opening a crack to look at him before closing once more."R-r-read…..it."

As her voice faded, so did her labored breathing. Her body stilled and the hand in his grip went limp. John felt his heart stop in his chest.

"No, no, no, no!" he muttered as he continued to grip her hand tightly. Tears began to fall freely from his eyes. "Evie? EVIE!"

* * *

" **Catch me if you** **can!"** yelled Amun-her-khepeshef, the thirteen-year-old glancing back at his younger sister as they ran through the palace.

" **Oh, don't worry, I will!"** Henuttawy called after him as he turned a corner several yards ahead of her. Her hair and clothes were a mess and she knew that when her mother saw her, she would have a fit at the state of her eldest daughter's appearance, not that the twelve-year-old cared about what her mother wanted.

" _ **You must take care of your appearance, or no man will wish to marry you."**_

Henuttawy scoffed as her mother's words echoed through her mind. She was a princess, she should be able to do whatever she wanted. And if she didn't want to be married, she shouldn't have to. She didn't want to worry about her appearance. So she did her best to not be like her younger sisters had been molded to be and even though her mother, and to some extent her father disapproved of her behavior, she didn't give a damn.

She ran around the corner and collided with a solid mass, knocking her back onto the floor, landing hard on her bum. Panting, she pushed back a piece of her fallen black hair and looked up at who she had run into. Her father stood looking down at her in is regal attire. Behind him stood an unfamiliar nobleman and Amun-her-khepeshef, who simply looked down at the floor beneath his feet.

Ramesses cocked an eyebrow and glanced between his two eldest children, the corners of his lips tugging upward. Henuttawy grinned up at him sheepishly. **"Hello, father."**

Ramesses said nothing but looked back at the man behind him. 

" **Baruti** **,"** he began. He then used his hand and gestured to Henuttawy, who was now picking herself up off the floor. **"May I introduce you to my eldest daughter, Henuttawy."**

Baruti bowed towards her, a small smile on his lips as he watched her dust herself off. **"A pleasure to meet you, your Highness.** "

He glanced behind him and nodded his head towards her. From behind Baruti, a boy not much older than Henuttawy stepped out from behind his back. Baruti set a hand on the boy's shoulder, who smiled shyly towards her. **"And I introduce to you my son,** **Rekhmire."**

* * *

" **Henuttawy, are you ready?"** a female voice called from the doorway to the princesses chambers. Henuttawy glared down at her current formal attire, a gift from her mother.

" **No,"** the sixteen-year-old replied. The doors creaked open and she looked up at her mother walked into her chambers, smiling brightly at her eldest daughter.

" **Oh, you look beautiful!"** she cooed as she circled her daughter, taking in her appearance.

" **I look stupid,"** Henuttawy grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest as she sat down on her bed. **"I really don't want to do this."**

" **It will be good for you,"** Nefertari replied, sitting down beside her daughter. She smiled and set a hand on her daughter's arm. **"Yuja has been asking for you."**

" **Yuja!?"** Henuttawy exclaimed, jumping up from the bed and looking at her mother incredulously. **"He's…just...ugh, no!"**

" **He's a good, strong man,"** the Queen replied. **"He would be a good husband to you."**

" **He's an arrogant, manipulative, ass!"** she shouted. **"Not to mention he is chummy with Meritaten, who has a go at me whenever she sees me. If he's there, I'm not going."**

" **Henuttawy-"**

" **No, mother!"**

* * *

Evelyn blinked as she stared at the large house before her, a house that she had not seen since she was eight years old. The mansion seemed to be exactly as she remembered it, yet completely different at the same time. How had she ended up here? One minute she had been closing her eyes against the pain as she tried to tell John about the note Alex had given her, and the next she had been here, no pain whatsoever.

She glanced down at her clothing to see she was still in her flight suit and a large blood stain was on the stomach. With a frown, she unzipped the suit and pulled up the pale blue shirt beneath. She gasped at the flawless skin. The wound from where Meritaten had stabbed her was gone. How was that possible.

"What in the world is going on?" she muttered as she dropped her shirt back down and looked up at the mansion before her. Taking a deep breath, she started to slowly walk towards the front door. Just as she stepped onto the porch, the front door was thrown open and a young Asian woman stood in the doorway, smiling at Evelyn.

"Come inside Evelyn, there isn't much time and we have much to discuss," she smiled, grabbing Evelyn wrist and pulling her into the house. She closed the door behind them before pulling her deeper into the house. "Mother! Rick! Evy! Jon!"

"Lin? What is it?" called a female from the kitchen as the women pulled Evelyn into the dining room, the double doors leading out to the large pool that Evelyn remembered Gordon spending hours at a time in.

Evelyn stopped and stared at the women when her name was called. "Lin….."

"Lin? Oh!" the voice gasped from the doorway. Evelyn blinked at the women before her, having seen her portrait every time she had read her favorite book. Her dark brown hair was pulled back and she pulled off her reading glasses to reveal sparkling hazel eyes. Evelyn O'Connell smiled at her gaping great granddaughter as she moved into the room.

Evelyn looked between the two smiling women, a frown forming on her face. If the pain was gone and they were here, that could only mean one thing. "I'm dead, aren't I?"

Her namesake smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yes," she whispered.

"But you won't be staying," Lin added, setting a hand on her granddaughter's shoulder. "John will find and read the spell."

"And seeing as we don't have much time, Lin, where is she?" Evelyn O'Connell asked her daughter-in-law.

"With Alan in the in-between," the younger women replied, removing her hand from Evelyn's shoulder. "Do you want to get her? Or should I?"

"No," Evelyn shook her head. "Go ahead."

Lin nodded and left the way that she had Evelyn had come. Evelyn looked to her namesake. "What's wrong with Alan? What's the in-between?"

"Meritaten set her Egyptian Cobra on him last night," she replied, watching as all color drained from her great-granddaughters face. "The in-between is a void between life and death. If their body is healed, they can go back. But if it is not…"

"They come here," finished a man as he stepped through the doorway. His brown hair was mussed and his light blue eye were identical to those of his son. He walked over to Evelyn and put an arm around his wife. "Zi Juan is on her way, she's going to get Ruth and Charlie first."

"Well, that saves me from having to tell you to go get them," Evelyn replied, patting Rick on the chest as she looked up at him. "And where's Jonathon?"

"Oh, he'll be here soon. Even he would have heard Lin's yelling," Rick waved his hand. As if on cue, another man walked into the room, bearing a resemblance to Evelyn. "There he is."

"What's all the yelling about?" he asked as he walked through the doorway. He stopped when he spotted Evelyn standing before his sister and brother-in-law. "I say, isn't this Lucy's little girl?"

"We wouldn't know since you are blocking the doorway," grumbled a female voice from behind him. Jonathon flushed and quickly moved out of the way as three more people entered the room.

The tallest of the three was a man that looked to be a few years younger than Rick with short brown hair and bright green eyes. He walked hand in hand with a petite young red-head whose honey-burnt eyes sparkled with mirth as she smiled towards Jonathon. The third was another petite Asian women that looked to be older than Lin and was wearing flowing blue robes. The red-head bustled over to Evelyn and pulled her into a strong embrace.

"Oh, Evie," she cooed. "I haven't seen you since Alan's second birthday. Gordon convinced you to enter the pool with him not long after eating and you both ending up sick that night, both from swimming too soon and eating too much cake. Oh, you've grown up into such a beautiful young women and-"

"Ruth, honey," Charles Tracy began, taking a step towards his wife and setting a hand on her shoulder. "I think you're cutting off her circulation."

Ruth quickly released Evelyn and stepped back. Evelyn gasped as she looked at the women before her. "Grammy?"

Ruth chuckled and hugged her once more, though this time not as tightly.

"That's my girl," she murmured, running her fingers through Evelyn's own red hair.

"We're back!" Lin called from outside the dining room. Ruth released Evelyn and turned her to face the doorway before moving back to stand beside her husband. Lin ran into the room with another woman not far behind her.

"Okay, you pulled my away from Alan and mom wouldn't tell me why. What the hell is-" the blond froze as she stepped through the doorway and caught sight of Evelyn. Her blue eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Evelyn? What are you doing here?"

Evelyn blinked and whispered, "Mom…"


	28. Resurrected

**Chapter Twenty-Seven-** **Resurrected**

John lifted his head from Evelyn's still chest at the sound of approaching footsteps behind him. Wiping the tears off his face with his sleeve, he glanced over his shoulder to see Fermat and Kaphiri come to a stop beside where Lady Penelope stood with her arms around Tin-Tin, their eyes red from crying. Tin-Tin looked to Fermat had stopped a few feet away and removed herself from Lady Penelope's arms to go over and hug him tightly. John looked away from them and simply stared down at his sister's body.

As Kaphiri stood back and bowed his head in mourning, Lady Penelope stepped forward and knelt down beside John. She wiped her own face with her gloved hand while the other went to gently grip John's shoulder.

"John," she began softly. He simply continued to stare at Evelyn. "What did she say?"

John lifted his head and looked up at the blond women, his eyes red and puffy from crying. He looked at her for a moment before looking back at Evelyn, his hands working to open the pocket on her pant leg. The Velcro sounded horribly loud in the silence of the square. Out of the pocket, John pulled out a folded up piece of paper that was obviously very old.

John carefully unfolded it and frowned at the words on the paper. Penelope leaned closer to also look at it. She frowned as she ran the words through her mind. The language sounded like Egyptian. She looked towards the sullen Medjai and gently took the paper from John's hand.

"Is this Egyptian?" she asked. Kaphiri stepped forward and took the paper from her hands. They all watched as his eyes went wide after studying in for several moments. He muttered something in Arabic and handed the paper back to John, who was frowning at the small smile on the Medjai's face.

"Allah has clearly blessed you," he smiled. He gestured to the paper in John's hand. "What you hold in your hand, is the English pronunciation of an incantation from the Book of the Dead."

"Book of the-" John repeated, his blue eyes going wide as he processed what the Medjai had told him. "You mean, this will bring her back?"

Kaphiri nodded. "I just wonder how she got a hold of it. The Book was lost almost a hundred years ago."

"I don't care how she got hold of it, I'm just glad she did," John replied. He looked down at the paper in his hands and began to read it aloud. "Ahm kum Ra. Ahm kum Dei."

* * *

Evelyn blinked and whispered, "Mom…"

"Oh, Evie," she cooed, stepping forward and wrapping her arms tightly around her daughter, who happily returned the embrace. The two women stood there for a long while before Lucy released her daughter and turned to look around at those gathered in the room. "Not that I'm not happy to see you, Evie, but what happened?"

"Saadia stabbed me in the stomach," Evelyn replied. She glanced down at her stomach and shrugged. "Though that's probably obvious from the blood stain."

"It wasn't Saadia, Lucy," her namesake interjected. "It was Meritaten. Yuja used the spell and brought her back completely."

Lucy pinched the bridge of her nose and swore.

"Lucy!" Lin and Evelyn scolded while Rick smiled. His wife caught sight of it and smacked his chest. From her other side, Jonathon snickered as Lucy rolled her eyes at her mother and grandmother. Evelyn turned and glared at her brother.

"What?" he exclaimed. "I didn't do anything! I was merely laughing at how much like Alex she is."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Back to the subject please," Evelyn interjected before her namesake could smack her brother. "Meritaten? That's not possible."

"It is possible," he great-grandmother replied. "I myself am the reincarnation of Nefertiti, daughter of Seti the first."

Evelyn sighed, her hands clasped in front of her. It explained everything. The dreams, the visions, everything. They hadn't been her imagination or the Hood playing with her mind, they were memories. "Then, I really am Henuttawy."

"Yes," the former librarian replied. "It will take some time to adjust to the fact that you have lived before, but your family can and will help you get through it."

Beside her, Rick smiled and wrapped an arm around his wife's waist. Evelyn looked up at him and kissed him on the cheek. Ruth's gasp brought their attention back to Evelyn.

"Looks like it's time for you to go," her namesake stated. Evelyn looked down at herself and gasped at her translucent body. Her grandmother then turned to the women that Evelyn guessed was Lin's mother. "Zi Juan, do you have any spell that you could give her that would help Alan?"

The women in the blue robes nodded and stepped up to stand before Evelyn. 

"Repeat after me," she instructed, before reciting a phrase in an unknown dialect of Chinese.

Evelyn gaped at the women. "Um, I can only speak English and Egyptian. I leave the other languages of the world to John."

Zi Juan chuckled, shaking her head. 

"It will be fine. As long as most of it is correct, it should work just fine," she replied. "Now, repeat after me."

She repeated the phrase slowly and Evelyn hesitantly recited it back to her. After having her recite the spell twice, Zi Juan smiled in approval. "That will do. Along with the anti-venom, it should rid his body of the toxins the snake injected into him."

Lucy set a hand on Zi Juan's shoulder and gave her a grateful smile. The former witch nodded and moved back, leaving Lucy and Evelyn in the center of the group. Lucy reached forward and set a hand on her daughter's quickly fading cheek.

"My little flyer," she whispered, blinking back her tears. Evelyn let out a choked sob at her childhood nickname that only Lucy had ever used. "I am so proud of you and your brothers. Your father has raised the six of you splendidly."

"I love you, mom," Evelyn choked out, tears trailing down her cheeks.

Lucy smiled. "I love you too, Evelyn," she replied. "Tell your father and brothers hello for me."

Evelyn's reply was cut off as a flash of golden light filled the room, and Evelyn Tracy disappeared from the afterlife.

* * *

"Efday shokran amenophus," John read. After he spoke the last word of the spell aloud, the wind suddenly picked up and began to howl as it blew through the city. No sand was disturbed. Golden light began to shimmer around the body before him, reflecting on the faces watching what was happening, their eyes wide as the body before them sucked in a deep breath.

The light and wind faded as Evelyn lay panting in the sand. John laughed and exchanged a smile with those around him as Evelyn's eyes fluttered open. Her eyes stared into the sky for a few moments before glancing over at those beside her. John and Lady Penelope knelt in the sand beside her with Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Kaphiri looking down at her over their shoulders. Evelyn spotted the paper in John's hand and smiled. "I see you found it."

Before she could even twitch, John reached down and gathered his younger sister into his arms and held her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder as tears leaked from his eyes. Evelyn returned the embrace just as strongly. She closed her eyes and smiled. _It worked. I'm back. I'm alive. I remember everything. From when I was Henuttawy, from when I was little, and from when I was in heaven. And I remember the spell from_ _Zi Juan_ _to help Alan. Oh my God! Alan!_

Evelyn slowly began to release her arms from around John, who lifted his head from her shoulder when he felt her arms begin to loosen. His eyes were red and puffy and tear trails cut through the dust on his face.

"I'm so glad you had that spell," he whispered.

Evelyn smiled. 

"We'll defiantly have to thank Alex once this is all over. But right now, we have to hurry," she said, removing herself from his arms and beginning to stand. Once she was standing, she helped John to his feet before looking around at the people around her. "Meritaten set her Egyptian cobra on Alan list night."

John's eyes widened before a small frown formed on his face. "Evie, how do you know that?"

Evelyn set her hand on John's arm. 

"I'll explain everything later," she replied. "Once Yuja, Meritaten, and the Hood are dead and our family is safe."

"Meritaten?" Lady Penelope repeated.

"She really was the women reincarnate, and Yuja brought her back in full last night," Evelyn explained, waving off the odd looks she was receiving from them. "Again, I'll explain later."

John nodded. 

"Okay," he replied slowly. "Now where did they go?"

"The temple," Kaphiri responded, gesturing to the large building behind them."There is no way to get in there without being noticed."

"Actually, I think there may be one," Evelyn countered, turning and heading through the palace gates with the others following slowly behind her, glancing at each other in confusion as they hurried to keep up with Evelyn's quick pace. "It was a passageway only known to the royal family and its entrance in the temple is hidden behind a statue of Anubis."

They followed her as they entered the place, going through what could be called the atrium of the grand building and into another large room beyond it. The doors still left open from when they had traveled to the city to rescue Evelyn and providing a minuscule bit of light to see with.

At one end of the room was a doorway that led who knows where while to the side was a dais, an old and crumbling chair sitting upon it. While following her, John noticed something slightly different with his sister. Nothing major, just the little things. For one, the way she held herself seemed to be almost as how someone royal would hold themselves.

Then there was how she knew something had happened to Alan and that there was another way into the temple. John was knocked out of his thoughts as she headed towards a dark doorway within the palace, its previously hidden door looked to have been cut away with a laser cutter.

"Evie, is this where?" John began to ask as the group stood beside the door, looking down into the pitch black tunnel.

"Yeah, this is where dad and Gordon found me," she replied. "Anybody got a flashlight?"

Tin-Tin slung her backpack off and unzipped it. She reached into one of its smaller pockets and grinned as she pulled out a large flashlight. Beside her, Fermat also pulled one from his. Evelyn glanced down the dark tunnel that she had fallen down almost a week prior and stared into the darkness for a few minutes, her expression contemplative.

"Okay," she muttered to herself before turning back to those who stood behind her. "You guys take one of the flashlights and get to the temple, get them free and get the Book of Amun-Ra. And keep out of sight as long as you can. Kaphiri, get the rest of the Medjai and follow them to the palace after a few minutes."

Kaphiri looked startled at her orders but nodded after a few seconds. He then turned to leave the way they had come. Evelyn then grabbed the flashlight from Fermat's hand and began to the same direction as Kaphiri. Before she could get far, John grabbed her elbow and turned her around to face him.

"Where are you going?" he inquired, holding her arm tightly to stop her from leaving.

"There is something that I have to do," she replied softly. "I'll be fine, John, just focus on getting the Book."

The determination burning in her eyes stopped John from arguing. 

"Okay," he whispered, nodding slightly before pulling her into a quick hug. He released her after a few moments, though he continued to grip her arm, just not as tightly as before. "Just be careful, okay?"

"You too," she responded as he released her arm. She smiled at him and the rest of those in the room before heading out the door. John watched as her shadow disappeared from the doorway before turning back towards Lady Penelope, Fermat, and Tin-Tin.

Looking at Tin-Tin, he gestured towards the doorway. "You want to lead the way?"

She nodded, flicking on the flashlight. 

"Okay," she responded before heading into the tunnel.

She shined the light down on the stairs below her feet as they walked, the light from the doorway behind them disappearing as they continued down beneath the palace, their footsteps echoing in the dark tunnel around them.

 


	29. Distraction

**Chapter Twenty Eight-** **Distraction**

Kyleigh watched the family with tears in her eyes as they were led deeper into the temple. She and Narmer had only arrived in time to see Evelyn fall to the ground before their handlers had begun to lead them all into the temple. Narmer had been quiet since seeing their new friend being left to die and Kyleigh knew that he was probably in shock. She knew she was. But what was worse than seeing the girl fall to the ground clutching her stomach, was the pain and despair obvious in the yells and actions of the family.

She glanced up at them as they were led through yet another large chamber lined with statues of various Egyptian gods. Jeff's eyes were red and puff from crying, tear tracks obvious on his dust-covered face while on his back, Alan was unconscious and unaware of what had just transpired. Scott's expression was murderous and he, along with Gordon and Virgil had put up one hell of a fight and the eldest Tracy son was now escorted by two guards, one holding each of his arms.

Virgil was almost as silent as Narmer, though she would occasionally see him look towards his brothers and whisper words that she could not hear to them. As with his father and brothers, his eyes were also red from crying. But the most heartbreaking reaction she had seen from the family had to have come from her twin.

Gordon's expression made him look as though he was a lost little boy and tears still continued to trail down his cheeks. His sobbing had only ended a few moments ago and the second youngest Tracy brother had yelled till he was hoarse.

As they were led through the small doorway at the far end of the room, Kyleigh noticed that guards had been left on both sides of the door. The emerged through the doorway into a large room that opened out below them. She glanced over the ledge as she was led to the stairs that hugged the wall and saw a long and narrow pool of dark water below.

In the center of the room stood a dark stone alter that sat on a raised dais. Chains were attached to each corner of the table. The sides of the room were lined with columns and behind the alter, opposite the doorway was a large statue of Anubis that sat a few feet out from the wall behind it. The room was lit by six flaming torches that sat between every other column.

Yuja shouted orders as he, Meritaten, and the Hood moved towards the alter. The guards holding them led them around the dais and towards the statue of Anubis. They were herded into the corner to the right of the statue and as they pushed their prisoners into the corner, they lined up facing the alter a few feet away, their hands at the weapons on their belts.

Jeff noticed this and put an hand on his eldest son's shoulder as he stood up from the dust covered floor. He looked at his father, who shook his head. If they were to try and escape, they would be killed in the process.

"I can't lose you too, Scott," Jeff whispered, his voice cracking.

After a few tense moments in which he simply continued to stare at his father, Scott sighed and nodded in defeat. "Come on. Let's get him off your back."

Jeff swallowed the growing lump in his throat and nodded. Scott walked around behind him and after working for a few minutes, they managed to get Alan off of his back and laid him gently on the stone floor, his head resting in his father's lap. Scott sat beside his father, holding his youngest siblings right hand. Virgil and Gordon knelt down on his other side and while Gordon grabbed his left hand and stared down at his younger brother, Virgil put two fingers to his neck.

As he pulled them away, he caught his father's eye and shook his head. 

"I don't think he can hold on much longer," he whispered.

Jeff pursed his dry, cracked lips and nodded, his fingers brushing the damp blond hair away from the teens forehead. He swallowed the growing lump in his throat. He had already lost one child who he thought was safe and now he was going to lose another.

He glanced up as he heard Yuja shout and one of the guards wade their way over to them and hauled Gordon to his feet. He heard Scott and Virgil yell for the guard to let him go as they stood from where they had been seated beside Alan. Gordon struggled as his captor pulled him towards the dais. The guards around Kyleigh, Narmer, and the remaining Tracy's turned around and unsheathed their curved swords.

"You got what you wanted!" Jeff shouted from where he sat with Alan's head in his lap. "What more do you want?"

Narmer and Kyleigh had gotten up and pulled Scott and Virgil back into the corner. The guards sheathed their knives at an yell from Meritaten and once more turned their backs on the captives.

"Oh, your daughter's death was only part of the plan," the Hood replied, looking towards the man he despised. The guard had managed to get Gordon onto the dais. The Hood smirked. "Now it's time for the grand finale; the rising of the army of Ramesses."

Jeff, Scott, and Virgil lost the little remaining color they had as the reason why they were there sunk in. Gordon continued to struggle as two guards forced him onto the altar while another removed his handcuffs and proceeded to chain him to the altar.

Meritaten handed a tablet to Yuja, the Book of Amun-Ra sitting on the ground beside a column to the left of the table. They, along with the Hood, froze as two pained grunts echoed through the doorway at the top of the stairs. Yuja looked to Meritaten and jerked his head in the direction of the doorway. **"Go and see what has happened."**

She smiled and bowed her head. 

**"Of course,"** she responded before heading towards the stairs.

Jeff frowned as he watched Meritaten leave. Where was she going?

"Psst!"

Jeff started and looked away from the stairs. He glanced up at Virgil and Scott, who had also heard the noise.

"Psst!"

Jeff looked towards the statue of Anubis a few feet away and was able to make out the shape of someone standing in the shadows behind the statue. The person glanced towards the guards before leaning out a little further for their identity to be revealed. Jeff stifled a gasp and out of the corner of his eye, saw Scott and Virgil stiffen before relaxing as the identity of the person was revealed. _John!_

John gave them a small smile and nodded towards the column a few feet to Jeff's right. From the shadows behind the column, an bespectacled face peered out of the shadows, wiggling an small laser cutter in his hand for Jeff, Scott, and Virgil to see.

"I would not read from that tablet if I were you," a feminine voice with a British accent suggested on the other side of the room. Lady Penelope smiled for a second as she saw the Tracy's look towards her before focusing her aim on Yuja. "Or you may find that my small finger will pull this big trigger."

"Ah, Lady Penelope," the Hood responded, walking around the altar to stand on the edge of the dais looking towards her. Behind him, Gordon craned his head to watch what was happening. "So wonderful to see you again. But I believe that if you pull that trigger, you will only harm yourself."

The Hood's eyes turned red and Lady Penelope winced. Her arm began to shake and move of its own violation until the small pistol was under her chin.

"What is she doing?!" Jeff whispered as he watched Penelope face down the Hood. "She's gonna get herself killed!"

"N-n-no she's not," Fermat countered as he knelt down beside Jeff and activated the cutter. "The gun's not l-l-l-its empty. S-s-she's just the d-d-d-d-distraction."

"Why is a distraction needed?" Virgil asked as he and Scott knelt down opposite the bespectacled teen in an attempt to conceal his presence.

"John's getting the Book," Fermat whispered in reply as he began to cut through the cuffs on his unconscious best friend.

Virgil glanced over his shoulder and his eyes widened at the sight of the small gun under Lady Penelope's chin. Even though the middle Tracy son knew that the gun was not loaded, it was still a frightening sight to see it under the chin of the women they considered their aunt.

"I don't think she'll be pulling that trigger anytime soon," a second familiar female voice announced as Tin-Tin emerged from behind a column closer to the stairs. The Hood's eyes returned to normal and his hold on Lady Penelope was released as he looked towards his niece. Tin-Tin smiled. "Hello, _uncle_."

Jeff, Scott, and Virgil watched as Tin-Tin stepped out of the shadow's as Fermat moved to cut the cuffs on Kyleigh and Narmer. The three had not yet shown their captors that they had been released.

"You had such potential," the Hood stated as Tin-Tin continued to smile at him, a smile that seemed to taunt him with the fact that she knew something that he did not. "If only my brother had not instilled a sense of loyalty to the Tracy's within you."

Yuja growled at Tin-Tin and then looked towards the guards near the Tracy's. **"Kill them!"**

As the guards left their post and began to run towards Lady Penelope and Tin-Tin, John continued to sneak from column to column on the other side of the room, growing ever closer to where the Book of Amun-Ra sat unguarded.

As the guards ran towards them, Lady Penelope pulled a second pistol from her flight suit and began to shoot those that came towards her. While the blond was taking care of those going after her, Tin-Tin took a deep breath before her eyes turned to golden cat slits. The swords of the guards turned towards them and where held in place by an invisible force.

The guards had no idea what had happened until it was too late and they had impaled themselves onto the blades. They promptly fell to the ground, the sand beneath them stained with blood. The guards that had been behind them froze and looked down at their dead comrades in horror. Tin-Tin's eyes returned to normal. She looked down at the dead guards on the ground and swallowed back the bile rising in her throat.

"Feels good, doesn't it?" the Hood asked, smirking towards her. Tin-Tin glared at him.

"Not particularly," she spat before looking to the remaining guards that were running towards her. 

_No more killing_ , she thought as her eyes once more turned to slits. Instead, the men tripped over their own feet and fell to the ground, stunned for a few moments before pushing themselves back up. The Hood frowned, disappointed.

Yuja smiled as the guards began to do as they were told, he set the tablet down onto the altar beside a struggling Gordon. As he began to read the inscription on the tablet, he pulled a knife from his robes and held it up above Gordon as he continued to chant. As he reached for the Book of Amun-Ra, John glanced up and his blue eyes widened at the sight of the knife above Gordon.

"Gordon!" Scott yelled as he and Virgil stood, revealing that they had been cut free. Yuja glanced towards them and smiled at their horrified expressions before he continued to read the inscription. A few of the guards that had gone after Lady Penelope turned around and saw them loose. They cursed in Arabic and ran towards them.

A feminine scream echoed out of the chamber above. Yuja stopped chanting and glanced back towards the doorway behind him. His smile disappeared as he spotted Meritaten fall back over the edge. She fell face down into the dark water below with a splash and did not move. Footsteps echoed in the doorway above. The room seemed to go silent and all stood still as they watched the doorway.

Evelyn emerged from the shadows, panting heavily as she looked down over the edge at Meritaten's still body in the water below. All those who had not witnessed her resurrection stared at her, their eyes wide in disbelief. She twirled the sai in her hands and smiled softly as she looked up towards an slack jaw Hood and a furious Yuja.

" **Henuttawy,"** he growled.

Her smiled turned to a smirk. **"In the flesh."**


	30. Meritaten vs. Henuttawy

**Chapter Twenty Nine - Meritaten vs. Henuttawy**

After leaving John, Fermat, Tin-Tin, and Lady Penelope before the doorway that would lead them to the temple, Evelyn quickly walked back into the atrium of the Royal Palace and headed towards the tunnel she had first gone down her first day in the city. As she approached the dark doorway, she flicked on the flashlight and pointed it towards the ground, lighting up the dirt covered stairs that would lead down to Henuttawy's private tomb.

Her feet echoed in the silence of the tunnel as she quickly walked down the stairs. After a few minutes, she emerged in the large chamber that was Henuttawy's tomb. 

_Or rather, my tomb_ , she thought as she shown her light around the room, searching for a certain statue of Anubis. She smiled as the light glinted of the golden sai in the statues hands.

She slowly approached the statue and grasped the handle of one of the blades with her right hand. She then gave it and gentle tug and the sai slid free of the statues grip. She flexed her fingers around the handle, a fond smile on her face as she looked down at the golden blade, feeling as if she had been reunited with an old friend.

After transferring the blade to her other hand, she tugged the other free of the statue. She then wiped the dust off the blades on the leg of her flight suit before transferring them both to her left hand. She then flashed her light towards the stairs and quickly walked back to them.

_Okay, got my sai,_ she thought as she walked up the stairs. _Now, antechamber of the temple. Do any of the statues have sai?_ She bit her lip as she thought of the layout of the temple, trying the picture the room in her mind. _The statue of Anubis_ _had sai. Hopefully they are still there._

As she emerged back into the atrium of the palace, she heard the Medjai in the room where the tunnel that would lead them to the temple was located, being instructed on what would happen when they reached the temple. She glanced towards the doorway as she flicked off the flashlight and set it down on the floor just outside the tunnel. With any luck they would enter the temple a few minutes after her. Evelyn then began to run out of the place, sai in her hands.

She squinted against the bright sun as she ran through the sand, her feet kicking up clouds of dust behind her as she ran. She began to slow once she was outside the palace gates and jogged into the shadow of the temple. She stopped just outside the large open doors and tightened her grip on the sai.

Evelyn then took a deep breath and stepped through the door into the large entrance chamber of the temple. She glanced around the empty chamber as she walked through it, being careful to make as little noise as possible as she crossed the chamber. As she approached the doorway at the end of the room, she heard movement from within. She quickly moved off to the side of the doorway and glanced into the room.

Two guards had been posted in the room. Their backs were towards her as they looked towards the doorway they were guarding, through which echoed the yells of her family. Evelyn felt her anger at Meritaten and Yuja grow at the sound of their yells and stepped into the statue-lined room. She quickly and quietly made her way to where she stood directly behind them.

She quickly cut the throat of the guard on the left. He let out a grunt of pain that caught the attention of his partner. Evelyn stepped behind him as he looked down at his fallen comrade, his expression one of shock and confusion. He then spotted her out of the corner of his eye. He drew his sword and turned to face her just as one of her sai entered his stomach. He let out a pained grunt as she yanked the blade out of his gut.

" **That's for capturing my family,"** she whispered as he fell to the ground beside his comrade. She looked up as she heard someone coming up the stairs on the other side of the doorway. She quickly made her way over to the right side of the room and hid behind the statue of Horus.

She watched from behind the statue as Meritaten entered the room. She spotted the body's of the guards and her brow furrowed in suspicion as she glanced around the room. Evelyn watched as she walked across the room and looked out into the entrance hall. When the women's back was turned, Evelyn stepped out from behind the statue and stood in front of the doorway, glaring at Meritaten's back. As if sensing her gaze, the women stiffened and Evelyn saw her glance towards the statue of Anubis to the left of the door. She turned around and her jaw went slack when her eyes landed on Evelyn.

Evelyn cocked an eyebrow and twirled the sai in her hands. **"Cat got your tongue, Meritaten?"**

" **Impossible,"** the other women breathed out.

Evelyn scoffed and shook her head. " **You seriously can believe that, seeing as we are both here once again. Along with your boyfriend, friend, whatever the hell he is."**

Meritaten stopped gaping at her and clenched her jaw. Her eyes flickered down to the sai in Evelyn's hand and a small smirk formed on the women's lips. She then walked over to the statue of Anubis and pulled the sai free of its grip, never once removing her gaze from Evelyn. **"You couldn't beat me three thousand years ago. What makes you think you can now?"**

" **Unlike you, I have managed to learn something by being reborn,"** Evelyn replied as the two women began to slowly close the gap between them. " **You thought my family was my weakness, but you couldn't be more wrong. They give me strength, and I have enough strength to beat you and Yuja."**

Meritaten growled, raised her sai and rushed towards Evelyn, closing the gap between blades net with a loud 'clang' as each women tried to find a hole in the others defense. Evelyn attached Meritaten above her head and pushed the women to where she was leaning backwards as she fought.

Meritaten let out a grunt as she pushed Evelyn back and swung at her chest. Evelyn bent backwards to avoid the blow but the sai managed to nick her on her right hip. Evelyn yelped as the blade sliced through her skin and stepped back, lowering her blades to her sides. Meritaten did the same across from her as the two women began to circle each other.

" **I see you never learned to be more flexible, Henuttawy,"** Meritaten sneered.

Evelyn glared at her for a moment before rushed forward. The golden blades met once more with a 'clang'. Meritaten pushed her away before attacking herself. Clang after clang echoed through the room for several moments as the blades met in quick succession, each of them fighting to gain the upper hand in the fight.

Meritaten swung towards Evelyn's head, only for them to meet thin air as the reincarnated princess dropped into the splits. She bit her lip and swung her right leg around, knocking Meritaten's feet out from under her, causing her to fall back and land hard on her back. Evelyn pushed herself up and stood with her sai in attack position as she glared at Meritaten.

" **Actually, I am quite a bit more flexible in this life,"** Evelyn informed her with a smirk. Meritaten glared at her, pushing herself to her feet. **"Unlike you, I was reborn as a cheerleader. Nine years of gymnastics training makes me plenty more flexible."**

" **You and your family will still die!"** Meritaten shouted as she ran towards Evelyn. Evelyn ducked out of the path of the blades and sliced Meritaten stomach as she moved. As the elder women let out a pained yell and dropped the sai to press her hands to the cut on her stomach. Evelyn went around behind her and kicked her in the back, propelling the women through the doorway and into the temple. Evelyn heard her yell as she watched her fall off the edge of the stairs. A loud splash reached her ears a few seconds later.

Evelyn stood still, panting. After three thousand years and being killed twice by the women, she had finally beaten her. Evelyn gripped her sai tightly as she walked through the doorway and stood at the edge of the stairs, looking down at Meritaten motionless body in the water below. The fight between the two women was finally over.

She lifted her gaze and scanned the room, taking in all the faces gaping at her. She twirled the sai in her hands and smiled softly as she saw the look of disbelief on the Hoods face and the murderous expression on Yuja's. Her eyes flickered to the knife held tightly in his hand and to Gordon chained to the altar behind him. The man's time left on Earth was numbered.

" **Henuttawy,"** he growled.

Evelyn's smiled turned into a smirk. **"In the flesh."**

"Impossible," she heard the Hood mutter as she began to slowly make her way down the stairs.

"You sound just like her," Evelyn motioned towards Meritaten's body. "What? You thought that that he was the only one that could be resurrected? Or did you think that the tablet was the only copy of the spell in existence? "

" **Enough!"** Yuja shouted as she reached the bottom of the stairs. He turned towards the still motionless guards behind the altar and pointed towards Evelyn. **"Destroy her!"**

As the guards began to run around the altar towards Evelyn, who stood in an attack position, waiting for them to come to her, a shout echoed through the chamber from behind the statue of Anubis.

" **ATTACK!"**

From behind the statue of Anubis, Medjai came pouring out from both sides. They had their swords out and immediately headed towards the guards. Several of the guards continued on towards Evelyn while the majority ran towards the Medjai. As the Medjai, Lady Penelope, Narmer and the guards clashed around the room, Tin-Tin and Fermat headed over to where Scott, Virgil, and Kyleigh were trying to keep the fight away from Jeff and Alan on the floor.

Tin-Tin knelt on the floor beside Alan and brushed back his damp bangs with a sad smile, vaguely aware of Jeff watching her. Fermat handed the laser cutter to Scott as he too knelt down. Scott turned up the power and cut through the sword of the guard that had come towards them.

The Hood moved around the altar and stalked towards the group in the corner, flinging aside any Medjai that approached him. Tin-Tin glanced up from where she knelt beside Alan and Jeff and spotted him. She slowly pushed herself to her feet before reaching up and clutching her necklace with both hands. Her eyes pupils turned to cat slits and her iris's golden in color. The Hood was stopped in his tracks and seemed to be pushing against an invisible wall as he tried to make his way towards them.

"Ah, I see your powers have grown stronger," the Hood sneered as he continued to push, straining to put his foot forward. "But that will not stop me from killing the Tracy's. The sins of the family must be paid for."

She clutched the pendant tighter and the Hood's foot was pushed back. "Not while I am still breathing will you touch them."

On the other side of the room, Evelyn was fighting off the few guards that had come after her. She ducked the sword of the second to last guard that had attacked her and then sliced the man's stomach, sending him to his knees, pressing his hands to the wound in attempt to keep himself from bleeding to death. When she straightened up, she heard an grunt of pain behind her. She turned around to see the guard fall to the ground, having been hit in the head with the Book of Amun-Ra that was currently in John's hands.

"Thanks John," she said breathlessly, giving him a small smile as he held the Book towards her. She moved both her sai into her left hand and took the Book from him with her right while leading them back towards the stairs and away from the fighting Medjai.

Evelyn glanced towards the corner their family was in and saw Tin-Tin clutching her necklace as she fought to keep the Hood away from them. John followed her gaze to where she was looking and his blue eyes widened as he watched the Hood fight to take a step forward. Evelyn then looked down at the cover of the Book of Amun-Ra and a smile formed on her face as her eyes landed on an incantation that would help them.

"Rasheem hatu Kashka! Hootash im Ahmenophus!" she read. From the chamber at the top of the stairs, a loud 'boom' reached her ears. The sound went unnoticed by the rest of the room as the Medjai continued to fight the guards. She glanced up towards the top of the stairs to see ten place guards, in two straight lines, march through the door and begin to make their way down the stairs.

John looked up and saw the mummies march in and glanced at his sister. 

"What did you do?" he asked as they walked into the chamber and came to a stop before them, waiting for their orders.

"Just got us some help," she replied, flashing a grin towards her brother before looking towards the guards. **"Destroy the one known as 'The Hood.'"**

At her order, the mummies began to make their way towards the Hood. As if he had understood that his name had been involved in the statement, he turned away from Tin-Tin and spotted the walking corpses that had their sights set on him. His eyes turned blood red and one of the mummies went flying into the nearest statue.

It stood up a few moments later and along with its fellows, opened the mouths farther and humanly possible, and roared. The Hood's eyes returned to normal and the man paled. All his powers had done was piss them off. They raised their weapons as they stalked towards him. He began to run around the other side of the altar, avoiding the various fights that were still in progress and made for the stairs.

"Evie!"

Evelyn removed her eyes from the running Hood and glanced over at John. Her older brother had gone a few shade paler and when she followed his gaze, she understood why. Yuja had gone back to reading from the tablet and was once more raising the knife above Gordon. Evelyn's eyes widened. 

From the chamber at the top of the stairs, screams of terror floated into the chamber along with the 'swish' of blades through the air. Then silence.

Evelyn tossed open the cover of the Book of Amun-Ra and quickly flipped through the pages, heading straight to where she knew the incantation was. She stopped at the page she was looking for and began to read. "Kadeesh mal! Kadeesh mal!"

Yuja froze and turned towards her, lowering the knife to his side. Evelyn glanced towards him as she shouted the last of the incantation. "Pared oos! PARED OOS!"

From the top of the stairs, wind blew into the room, distracting the guards for a few seconds but long enough for the Medjai to defeat the last of them. The sound of a creaking whip and the doorway at the top of the stairs was filled with an glowing blue fog. From the fog emerged the ghostly image of an chariot drawn by four horses. In the chariot stood the figure of a man with the head of a dog.

"Anubis," Evelyn gasped as the chariot charged down the stairs and headed straight for Yuja. A look for horror appeared on the man's face as the chariot approached him where he stood beside the altar. The chariot ran through him and the altar. Yuja screamed as the image on Anubis connected with him and tore away an ghostly form of Yuja being dragged behind the chariot, trying to escape as they turned around and headed back up the stairs.

Yuja ran after them a few paces but stopped when the chariot reached the blue fog. The fog dissipated and the chariot was gone. Yuja then slowly turned towards Evelyn and John, fury burning in his dark eyes.

John's blue eyes widened as Yuja began to walk towards them. "I thought it was going to kill him."

"Did I ever specifically say it would kill him? No," Evelyn shook her head. She handed the Book over to John, who looked at her incredulously. "I just made him killable."

With that, she transferred one of her sai to her left hand the hurled the blade towards Yuja.


	31. Together Again

**Chapter Thirty- Together Again**

The golden blade glanced off Yuja's right hip, only making a tear in his robes and did not deter him from his course towards them. She hurled the second blade towards him only for it to nick his left bicep, making a shallow scratch and not nearly enough damage to stop him. Evelyn groaned as she and John continued to back away from Yuja. Even after three thousand years, her aim hadn't improved in the slightest. Yuja grinned at the frustrated Evelyn.

" **You may have taken my immortality, Henuttawy, but you and your family will still die,"** he grinned as he continued to slowly walk towards the siblings.

His grin disappeared and was replaced with a howl of pain and rage as the red beam of a small laser cutter took out a chunk of his left arm. The glowing red beam had been brought down upon Yuja's arm by a furious Scott.

John took advantage of the distraction Scott had provided and grabbed the fallen sword from the dead guard to his right. Yuja clutched the bleeding wound on his right arm and turned towards Scott. Evelyn caught movement out of the corner of her eye and watched as John pushed the curved blade deep into Yuja's upper abdomen.

John let go of the hilt of the sword and stepped back with Scott to stand beside Evelyn. Yuja let out a yell of pain as he removed the sword from his stomach. The blood covered blade clattered to the floor as Yuja fell to his knees, pressing his hands to his abdomen. He looked up at the three siblings before him.

" **Have fun in hell, "** Evelyn growled after a few moments of his silent staring.

The three of them jumped back a few moments later as Yuja's body fell forward to lay unmoving on the dust covered stone floor. Evelyn sighed after a few minutes of simply watching his body and let her shoulders sag in relief. "It's ov – OMPH!"

Evelyn suddenly felt all the breath knocked out of her as she was roughly pulled into the arms of her eldest brother, who closed his eyes and held her tightly. After the initial shock had worn off, Evelyn gladly returned the embrace. Scott released her after a few moments and held her out at arm's length, scanning her for injuries.

She saw his cobalt blue eyes widen as they landed on the large bloodstain on her stomach. She reached up and removed his arms from her shoulders, taking his hands into hers. "Scott."

"Scott," she repeated when he did not remove his gaze from the stain. She reached up and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look her in the eyes. She bit her lip at the pain and worry she saw in his eyes. "Scott, I'm fine. I swear."

"But….you were….she stabbed," he stammered as he once more glanced down at the stain.

Evelyn smiled fondly at her older brother. "I'll explain it all later. It's a long story and I really don't want to have to repeat it."

Scott nodded slowly before wrapping his arms around her once more. 

"Okay," he muttered as he rested his chin upon her head.

"Evelyn!"

Scott released her at the yell from Gordon and the two looked to see him running towards them, the chains that had kept him on the alter having been removed by John. Evelyn stepped away from Scott to receive the bone crushing hug from her twin with open arms. Evelyn closed her eyes as Gordon pressed his face into her shoulder, his hands grabbing fistfuls of her flight suit. She felt him begin to tremble as he drew in a breath and tightened her arms around him.

"I'm fine Gordy, I swear," she whispered.

Gordon lifted his head from her shoulder and pulled back to look at her. His emerald eyes were shining with unshed tears as he looked at her.

"But you should be dead. How are you not dead?" he asked as he wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.

"I know I should be," she replied softly, glancing over his shoulder to see John and Scott heading towards the corner where Fermat was handing the backpack with the anti-venom to Virgil. "But I'm not and how that came to be will be explained once Alan is okay and we are on our way home."

"Oh God, Alan!" Gordon cried as he spun around to see that John and Scott were now in the corner, though Scott was helping distract John so the blond wouldn't look at the needle that Virgil was inserting into Alan's arm. His flight suit had been unzipped to reveal the white t-shirt beneath and his arms removed from the sleeves. The top half of the suit gathered around his waist.

Evelyn grabbed Gordon's hand. "Come on."

The twins jogged hand and hand over to the corner their family was in and reached them just as Virgil was pressing a cotton ball to the skin where he had inserted the needle.

Virgil looked up from Alan's arm to where his elder brother stood a few feet away. "You can turn around now, John. I'm done administering the anti-venom."

John turned around and he and Scott went to kneel down beside Alan as Virgil moved down to bandage to bite. Evelyn and Gordon knelt down across from them, the former of the two sitting closer to where their father sat with the blonds' head in his lap.

She smiled at her father who looked at her in mild disbelief. "Hey, dad."

"Evelyn," he breathed out as he reached over and set a hand on his daughter's shoulder. "But how?"

Evelyn glanced at John across from her, who gave her a small smile. Jeff looked between the two with a frown of confusion. Evelyn transferred her gaze back to her father as she reached up and grasped the hand that was on her shoulder. "I'll explain later."

"Okay, that's the best I can do for him here," Virgil informed them as he placed the roll of gauze back into the backpack Fermat had given to him. "I can only hope that it's not too late. And we should-"

Evelyn groaned and closed her eyes as she mentally smacked herself. The spell! The spell Zi Juan had given her! How could she have forgotten it? She let out a curse in Egyptian under her breath.

"Evelyn?"

She looked towards Virgil and took in his concerned expression before looking back to the unconscious blond before them. She squeezed her father's hand on her shoulder before moving it to grip Alan's limp hand. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and recited the spell Zi Juan had given her as best as she could. As the last word left her mouth, she opened her eyes to see the confused expressions of her family.

"Was that Chinese?" John inquired.

Evelyn nodded. "Yes, a very ancient form of it," she replied. "It was a spell that, along with the anti-venom, will get rid of all the poison the snake injected into him. Hopefully, now he'll be okay till we get home."

"Where did you get it?" Virgil asked as he moved away from Alan. Jeff removed his hand from her shoulder so the medical officer could kneel beside her. He then pressed two fingers to his younger brother's neck. His pulse was still quicker than normal but not nearly as rapid as it had been.

"I'll-"

"Explain later," John finished as Virgil moved his hand to feel Alan's forehead. Evelyn glanced over at John and rolled her eyes at him. Virgil removed his gaze from Alan to look at her. She smiled and jerked her head towards John.

"What blondie said," she teased, receiving a half-hearted glare from John, the corners of his mouth turned upward. Her smile faded slightly as she looked down at the second blond of the family. "How is he?"

"Well, it seems that that spell of yours worked and sped up the anti-venom," he replied. "His pulse seems to be returning to normal and his fever has broken. I think he's just unconscious from exhaustion and dehydration now."

"Oh thank God," Jeff sighed, his shoulders slumping as he ran a hand through his filthy hair.

"Though I think all of you are suffering from that," John added. Virgil glanced towards him and nodded.

He then frowned after a moment and looked back towards Evelyn. "Let me see your stomach."

Evelyn blinked. "My stomach?"

"Yeah, where she stabbed you," Virgil replied, reaching up and scratching the back of his neck as the rest of his family looked slightly shocked at his request. "I want to see it."

"Okay," she shrugged. She pulled her arms out of the sleeves of her flight suit and pushed it down around her hips before lifting up the blood soaked t-shirt she had worn underneath. The skin where the blade had entered her was only marked by dried blood, but the wound itself was long gone. Virgil reached forward and ran his fingers over the flawless flesh just below her bellybutton, shaking his head in disbelief.

"How is this possible?" he muttered under his breath. He pulled away his hand and Evelyn dropped her shirt before his arms wrapped around her and pulled her to him. She sat still for a moment before returning the embrace. He released her after a few moments and looked her in the eyes. "I hope you're not going to make us wait long for that explanation."

Evelyn shook her head and opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by someone calling her name. She looked in the direction the voice had come to see Kaphiri and Taymullah a few feet from the statue blocking the hidden doorway.

She pushed herself to her feet. 

"I'll be right back," she muttered to her family.

" **Thank you, Evelyn,"** Taymullah said as she came to a stop before the two Medjai. **"You and your family have earned the respect and gratitude of my people."**

" **And thank you, Taymullah,"** she replied, inclining her head towards the chief of the Medjai. **"Without your help, we may not have been able to succeed in killing Yuja and rescuing my family."**

Kaphiri smiled at the young women. 

**"We are once more able to send a few of our people behind you to provide you with what you will need for the night,"** he informed her. **"Though it will not be a many following you as on the way here as we have a second group planned to take Kyleigh and Narmer to Cairo."**

" **How are they?"** Evelyn inquired, feeling slightly guilty that she had forgotten about them.

" **Filthy and exhausted, but they are otherwise alright,"** Kaphiri replied. **"Though I have to say that they were quite shocked to see me."**

Evelyn chuckled, slightly shaking her head. **"That I do not doubt."**

" **And we have provided a stretcher for you to transport your brother to the ultralights,"** Taymullah motioned to the Tracy's behind her and Evelyn glanced back to see Scott, Virgil, and Jeff moving Alan onto a dark cloth stretcher that had been provided to them while John was hugging Gordon. Once Alan was on the stretcher, Jeff turned to Lady Penelope behind him, who promptly embraced the Tracy Patriarch.

Evelyn turned back towards the Medjai and gave them a grateful smile. **"Once again, thank you so much."**

* * *

As Scott and Virgil got Alan settled on the stretcher the Medjai had provided them, Jeff turned around to talk to Penelope only for him to find the blond agent wrapping her arms around him. Jeff stood still for a moment, surprised at the actions of the young women, before returning the embrace of his good friend.

Penelope pulled away after a few moments and smiled up at him. "Good to see you, Jeff."

"Good to see you too, Penny," he replied. "And thank you for helping them to get here."

Penelope shook her head. "No need to thank me. They did most of the work," she said, motioning to his children, Fermat, and Tin-Tin behind him. "I was just along to give them a helping hand."

"Okay," Evelyn began as she left the two Medjai and walked back over to the corner of the room that her family stood in. "They have informed me that they will once again be following us on the ground like they did on the way here. And they recommended we exit through the tunnel. Apparently the mummies I commanded to kill the Hood left a bit of an, um, mess. So we'll go out through the palace to get to the ultra lights."

John blinked in an attempt to rid his mind of the mental picture of the mess the Hood could have been left in. 

"Which one of us is going to take Alan?" he asked.

"Hmm," Evelyn tapped a finger on her chin as she thought. "How about he goes up with you? Keep him behind someone taller and can calm him down easily if he wakes up."

"Okay," he replied before he and Scott bent down to pick up the stretcher. Tin-Tin led the way, picking up the flashlight she had left behind the statue and flicking it on. After a bit of maneuvering to get the stretcher through the gap, she then proceeded to lead them into the tunnel with Virgil not far behind them.

Lady Penelope glanced towards Jeff before walking over to Fermat and setting a hand on the teen's shoulder. She whispered something to him as the two began to head towards the tunnel. Evelyn smiled after them before turning around to find her father standing before her, Gordon a few feet behind him.

Before she could even blink, Evelyn was pulled into the arms of her father. She closed her eyes in content was she wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her head against his shoulder. She felt him sigh as he dropped a gentle kiss into her hair.

"I'm glad you are alright," he murmured, resting his chin upon her head.

Evelyn tightened her arms around him. In her past life as Henuttawy, though she had loved her family, she had loved Rekhmire more. But what she felt for her family this time around made her see that her feelings for Rekhmire paled significantly in comparison to that of her family. 

_I probably could have lived without him, but I know I cannot live without them,_ she thought.

"Me too," she responded, opening her eyes and smiling up at him. Jeff smiled at her warmly before pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Come on," he said, removing his arms from around her and instead placing one around her shoulders. "Let's go home."

Gordon suddenly appeared on her other side. She smiled at her twin and grabbed his hand as the three walked towards the tunnel that would take them to the place. They were met before the statue by a Medjai, who began to lead the way up the tunnel with a flaming torch in hand. Evelyn smiled and thanked the man as Jeff removed his arm from around her shoulders and entered the tunnel a few feet ahead of her.

* * *

It did not take them long to reach the palace and from there walked to where they had landed the ultralights on the east side of the city. The others had reached the ultra light several minutes before them and already had Alan secured in the passenger seat of John's and he was currently working to secure the helmet on the younger blond.

Scott stood beside Lady Penelope and the two were talking to those back on the island using her monitor while Fermat was handing the second helmet from his craft to Virgil. Jeff, who had once more put his arm around his daughter's shoulder as soon as they were out of the tunnel, removed it and walked towards Scott and Lady Penelope.

Evelyn led Gordon over to her ultralight before releasing his hand. She lifted up the passenger's seat to reveal a small compartment that held the spare helmet and extra gas. She handed it to her twin before checking the gas levels of the craft. 

_Should be enough for today, though I'll probably have to fill her up before we take off tomorrow morning,_ she thought as she moved back to the passenger's seat and closed the compartment.

She turned around to see that Gordon had pulled on the helmet and was securing the strap beneath his chin. She looked around to see that John was hitting the switch for gas on the back of his ultralight and Virgil was getting comfortable in the passenger's seat of Fermat's. Tin-Tin was handing her spare helmet to Scott while Lady Penelope did the same with Jeff.

She smiled at Gordon as she walked around the rear off her ultralight to hit the switch for the gas. 

"Ready to head home?" she asked.

He nodded and gave her a tight smile. She simply raised an eyebrow at her surprisingly quiet twin, planning on talking to him later. She looked towards the other ultralights. 

"You guys ready?" she called.

At the various confirmations from the other pilots, she motioned for Gordon to climb into the passenger seat before helping him secure the strap across his lap. She then grabbed her own helmet off of her seat and sat down as Gordon pulled on his goggles. After pulling on her own goggles, she reached forward and turned on the monitor. The screen flickered to life to show the others climbing in or finishing the preparations on their own crafts. She waited till everyone had their helmets on before talking.

"I'm just going to use the same route we took to get here so we don't have to worry about plotting a new course," she informed them. "What did those back on the island have to say?"

"That they are glad to see we are okay," she heard her father reply. "And that they are looking forward to seeing us in a few days."

Evelyn nodded. She then reached forward and hit the switch, the engine behind her and Gordon rumbling to life. 

"Okay," she said as the craft slowly began to move forward. She inserted her hands into the gloves attached to the bar before her. "I'm going to head on up. We'll probably only be able to fly for a few hours, seeing as we are getting low on fuel and carrying a second person will use up a lot more. And when we land for the night, we have clothes for you guys to change into and the Medjai will provide us with food and blankets for the night."

"Okay Evie," John responded as she pushed forward on the bar and the ultra light slowly lifted into the air. "I'm heading up right behind you."


	32. Explanations

**Chapter Thirty One- Explanations  
** **September 14th, 2024**

Though Alan had woken a few times over the next day, he'd been extremely lethargic. The wound from the bite was slowly beginning to heal over and the teen was making progress. The night after leaving Amarna, Jeff and Virgil had changed him into the clean clothes that had been brought for him before changing themselves. Though all of them were still in desperate need of a good long shower.

The evening after the left Amarna found them landing with an very much awake Alan behind John. The youngest Tracy had awoken a little over an hour before they would lands for the night and declared that he was hungry over the communication link. Once the group had landed, John had helped the other blond out of the ultralight and they both made their way over to where Evelyn and Gordon stood beside her ultralight, watching the approaching cloud of dust roughly half a mile to the south.

The usually loud redhead had been abnormally quiet since they had left Amarna and had only let his twin out of his sight when she had to use the bathroom. He flew with her, sat beside her when they ate, and pulled his blanket up right next to her when they slept. John watched as Gordon shifted closer to her and glanced at her out of the corner of his eye, as if he was afraid she would disappear any second.

He looked over at Alan, his arm around the teen's waist and was supporting most of his weight, frowned at the behavior of their brother. The was he was acting had the younger blond wondering just what had happened to her while he had been unconscious and whether the conversation with his mother had been real. She had never said specifically who had been hurt when she returned after leaving with the Asian women, just that someone who was not supposed to be there had arrived and she had to see her before she was sent back.

Was Evelyn the one that was not supposed to be there? His mother had told him that he was between life and death, a waiting room as it were, but what if Evelyn had died and had no need to go to the waiting room. And it would also explain the strange dream of seeing her being stabbed by Saadia that was beginning to seem less like a dream and a lot more like reality, which he had been unable to comprehend at the time.

"Hey sprout!"

Alan was knocked out of his thoughts by the greeting from his sister, who had turned away from watching the Medjai to smile at her younger brother. Gordon also gave him a small smile as Evelyn moved away from the ultralight and gave him a one-armed hug. _Okay, something bad defiantly happened to her for Gordy to be so quiet._

"Hey Evie," he greeted in return, wrapping the arm that was not around John's shoulders around his sister.

She removed her arm from around him after a few moments and smiled at him. 

"Besides being hungry, how are you feeling?" she asked, setting a hand on his shoulder.

"Better," he replied. "I'm able to think straight for the first time in the past few days, though my ankle is still a little sore."

"Well, we brought ibuprofen with us, hoping none of us would have to use it," John said with a small shrug.

Evelyn nodded in agreement. 

"And since Virge took charge of the medical supplies we brought," she added with a small smile. "He'll probably give you some after dinner when he changes the gauze around the bite. And once we get home he'll be able to take care of it a lot better."

"Good to see you awake Alan," Tin-Tin said with a smile as she and Scott approached where the group stood. Alan looked around the group and saw that all of them had dark bags under their eyes and their faces were pink from the sun. The cut on Scott's forehead was scabbed over and the bruise was various shades of purple and yellow.

Tin-Tin walked over and stood beside Evelyn as Scott went straight to the younger blond. John removed his arm from around Alan's waist as Scott embraced Alan tightly, shifting the majority of the teen's weight from John to himself.

Evelyn smiled as she watched her eldest brother hug the youngest member of the family before glancing over her shoulder to see the first of the Medjai that had been following them had arrived. She glanced towards her family to see that their father and Lady Penelope had joined the group before heading around her ultralight and over to where Bomani stood beside his horse as the rest of the small group of Medjai began to dismount their own steeds. Bomani smiled at her as she approached.

" **Good evening, Evelyn,"** he greeted, inclining his head towards her before working to remove something from his saddle bag. **"I see your youngest brother has awoken."**

" **Yes, he's well on the road to recovery,"** she replied. **"And you know he is better because one of the first things he said after getting his bearing was 'I'm hungry.'"**

Bomani chuckled has he turned around, a slim, brown bundle in his hands. 

**"Well, he should not have to wait long for a meal. We brought the wood that was left over from the fire last night with us,"** he informed her before handing the cloth wrapped bundle to Evelyn. **"This arrived for you this morning, just after you had taken off."**

Evelyn frowned, wondering what exactly had been sent to her. She pulled the cord that secured the cloth and unwrapped the cloth from around the object. Her gleaming golden sai were revealed within the folds to brown.

" **Kaphiri informed me that he found them during the clean up and thought you would like to keep them,"** Bomani said as Evelyn lifted one of the blades from the cloth and held it up. They had been cleaned of all remnants of her fight with Meritaten and shined in the setting sun.

"Evie?"

Evelyn spun around to see Gordon standing a few feet away and looked past him to see the rest of their family watching her curiously from the other side of the ultralights. Evelyn sighed and put the sai back into the cloth. 

"Time to explain to them what happened," she muttered as she secured the cord around the bundle.

She glanced over her shoulder at Bomani and smiled towards the Medjai. **"Thank you Bomani, and tell Kaphiri that I thank him as well."**

Bomani nodded in reply as she walked towards her twin. She put her arm around his shoulder while his went around her waist and the two slowly began to make their way towards where their family stood.

"You guys will defiantly want to sit down for this," she told her family as she and Gordon approached them, removing her arm from around her twin. "Because there is a lot that I have to tell you and if you are not sitting down, well it is probably just better if you were sitting down for it."

* * *

Fifteen minutes later found the family sitting on the blankets the Medjai had provided them near the growing fire where dinner was being prepared. Alan between Jeff and Scott, leaning against the former's shoulder. Virgil sat between Scott and Gordon with the pack of medical supplies behind them. Lady Penelope, Tin-Tin, and Fermat sat across from them on Jeff's right while John and Evelyn sat between Fermat and Gordon. The bundle that contained the sai sat in Evelyn's lap.

Evelyn pinched the bridge of her nose as she took a deep breath. 

"Where do I start," she mumbled, her hand dropping down to her lap. "I guess I should start with how I came back, because everything is tied to my resurrection."

"Resurrection?" Alan repeated, remembering the images from his 'dream.' "You were the one she went to see, weren't you?"

Evelyn looked surprised for a moment before giving Alan a small smile, having quickly figured out who 'she' was. 

"Yes," she replied with a slight nod. "What all did she tell you?"

Throughout this exchange, Jeff had been looking between Evelyn across from him and the blond leaning against him in confusion.

"Hold on a second you two. Who is 'she?'" he asked, holding up the hand that was not around Alan to get them to stop their conversation as the rest of the group looked between them in confusion.

Evelyn and Alan smiled. 

"Mom," they replied simultaneously. Evelyn glanced at the group and saw that her family seemed to have frozen at the mention of Lucy. She looked over at Alan, who caught her eye and shrugged as if to say 'they took that better than I expected.'

"You see," Evelyn began after a few seconds of shocked silence had passed. "Before John read the resurrection spell and brought me back, Alan was in the in between, a place between life and death while I was in heaven. Mom was with Alan till I arrived."

"And she came back after you left," Alan continued. "Though all she told me was that someone who was not supposed to be there had arrived and she stayed until they left."

"So," Scott, paused, swallowing the lump that had begun to grow in his throat at the mention of their mother. "You both saw mom?"

"Yeah, and she says to tell you 'hi' and that she misses us all," Alan said softly, glancing up at his father. Jeff blinked back the unshed tears that begged to fall since the mention of his deceased wife. He tightened his arm around Alan and dropped a kiss into his dust-filled blond hair. Alan smiled as he leaned back against his father.

"But she wasn't the only one I saw," Evelyn added, smiling as she watched her father and Alan across from her. "Grammy and Grandpa Charles were there, and Lin, our maternal grandmother. Lin's mom was also there, along with Rick and Evelyn O'Connell and her brother Jonathon. It was Lin's mom, Zi Juan, who gave me the spell to help get rid of the snake venom. She was a witch in China and died when they were fighting the Dragon Emperor."

John nodded in understanding though a small frown continued to show on his features. 

"Okay, I get how you knew a spell in Chinese and how you knew Alan was hurt, but how did you know about the tunnel to the temple?" he inquired, looking over at his sister beside him.

"Well, it seems that in killing me," she began. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed her twin flinch at the mention of her death. She reached over and took his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. Gordon gave her a tight smile before she continued and he continued to tightly grip her hand as she spoke. "They ultimately sealed their own fates. With my resurrection using the spell Alex had given me when we went to retrieve the Book of Amun-Ra, they made me remember."

"Remember what?" Tin-Tin asked after a few moments.

Evelyn looked over at the Malaysian girl and smiled. 

"That they were right in thinking that I am an reincarnated princess," she replied. "Those dreams I was having, weren't dreams at all. They were memories of my life as Henuttawy." 

Using her free hand, she undid the bundle in her lap and removed one of the golden blades. "These sai are mine and are the same blades I used when I spared with Meritaten three thousand years ago, though I was not successful in beating her that time. By dying and being brought back, I gained all my memories of my previous life and combined with all that I learned from cheerleading, I was able to beat her this time."

Before anymore could be said, several Medjai approached them, carrying bowls of steaming stew, several loafs of bread and an large jug of water. Evelyn released Gordon's hand and set the said down on the ground next to her as they handed the bowls to the group. They set the bread and water down in the center of the circle they sat in on the blankets.

Evelyn thanked them as they retreated before ladling a spoonful of stew from her bowl. She glanced up as she chewed on the first bite to see her family members slowly beginning to eat their stew, still trying to process what she had just told them.

"Don't eat to fast sprout," Virgil warned, his voice breaking the silence that had formed within the group. He placed his spoon in the bowl and lowered it to his lap, his honey-burnt gaze on Evelyn.

"So…you…your," He sighed, looking down at the bowl in his lap for several moments before once more returning his gaze to his sister. "You're really Henuttawy?"

Evelyn swallowed another bite of stew before nodding. 

"Yes, Henuttawy and I are one and the same. Just make my hair black and my eyes brown and that would be how I looked three thousand years ago," she replied, setting her own bowl down in her lap. "It's going to take some getting used to for all of use. Evelyn O'Connell told me that it will take some time to adjust because she's been there. She's the reincarnation of Nefertiti, daughter of Seti the First."

"Wasn't that what was written on the sarcophagus in O'Connell manor?" John asked, tearing off a piece of bread from one of the loafs.

Evelyn nodded in reply as she ate another spoonful of stew.

"So Alex did know where it was," Alan muttered before he took a drink of water, doing his best to keep the jug steady as his eyelids began to grow heavy. Now that his stomach had something solid in it and he was relaxed, his body began to show just how tired he still was.

"He sure did," John nodded, watching as Alan set down the mug. He caught Virgil's eye and subtly nodded towards Alan. "And the key to the chest the Book was kept in was Evie's locket."

Virgil had quickly seen what John had seen and set down his bowl beside him. 

"I think someone is ready to go to bed," he stated, grabbing the bag of medical supplies from behind him.

Alan shook his head. 

"No, no, I'm fine," he said as he attempted to sit up and fought to keep his eyes open. He stifled an large yawn. "Go on, Evie."

Virgil shook his head as he knelt before him and began to removed the gauze he had wrapped around his ankle the night before.

"It's okay, Al," Evelyn smiled as she watched Alan fight to keep his eyes open. "I told you guys most of what I wanted to tell you, but the rest can wait till we are home. You just go to sleep."

He nodded sleepily as he leaned back against Jeff's shoulder. Virgil finished pulling off the old gauze and bit his lip as he inspected the snake bite that was beginning to scab over.

"I'm gonna have to keep a really close eye on this," he stated, reaching into the bag and pulling out a tube of antibiotics and squeezing it onto the area of the bite. "It's showing signs of being infected and the strong antibiotics are at home. Hopefully this will keep it from getting any worse. Scott, can you pull the ibuprofen out of the bag for me, pull out two tablets and give them to Alan for me?"

"Sure," the eldest Tracy brother responded, pulling the bag of medical supplies towards him before searching its contents for the ibuprofen. He found the bottle, twisted the cap and shook two tablets out into his hand. Scott replaced the bottle back into the bag and looked up to see Virgil had set the tube aside and was now wrapping clean gauze around Alan's ankle.

Jeff already had the jug of water ready to go and was looking down at the blond falling asleep against his shoulder. 

"Alan? You gotta stay awake for a few more minutes," he called softly. The blond looked up at him with sleepy blue eyes. "You just need to take these pill and then you can go to sleep, okay?"

Alan nodded slowly as Scott handed the tablets to his father. After a few minutes, Jeff had managed to get Alan to swallow both of the pills. Once they were taken, Alan leaned back against his father 's shoulder once more and closed his eyes, his breathing evening out as he easily fell asleep. Virgil wiped his hands on his khaki shorts before replacing the tube and gauze back into the bag and returning back to where his unfinished bowl of stew sat.

"Well, we should reach Cairo early tomorrow afternoon," Evelyn began, her voice lowered in an attempt to not be too loud and wake up the sleeping teen, who was still getting over the effects the venom had had on his system. "Then once we're home you can start him on the stronger stuff."

"I'll want to keep him in the infirmary at least one night," Virgil informed them, taking the chunk of bread that Scott was offering him. "The infection is not to serious right now, but I want to wipe it out of him before it gets the chance to."

Jeff nodded and brushed back Alan's bangs. "He's been through enough these past few days."

"And when we get home, I also want to look at your back," Virgil told his father, his eyes hard and expression showing his father that he would not take no for an answer. Jeff nodded and Virgil then turned towards Gordon. "And I wanna take a look at your ribs."

Gordon started and looked towards the medic beside him as those who had been flying looked startled and glanced between the two that Virgil had just pointed out.

"What happened to your back?" Lady Penelope asked, looking towards Jeff as she set down her empty bowl.

Evelyn frowned at her twin. "And what happened to your ribs?"

"A guard kicked him in the back the morning after we were captured," Virgil replied, gesturing towards his father. "And the same guard kicked Gordon in the ribs just after we were captured."

Evelyn glared down at her empty bowl as she felt John stiffen beside her and knew he was also angry at this guard that had hurt their father and brother. 

_Oh I really hope he was one of those I killed yesterday. I wanna bring the guy back just so I can kill him again for hurting my family._ _And that must have been what I felt that day! How could I have forgotten!_

"We should all get to sleep now."

Her father's voice knocked her out of her thoughts and she looked up from the bowl to see that Fermat and Gordon were beginning to fight to keep awake has Alan had not long before. 

"It's going to be a long day tomorrow, but we'll be at home tomorrow night," he added.


	33. Home at Last

**Chapter Thirty-Two - Home at Last  
** **September 15th, 2024**

As expected, the group landed at Cairo International Airport and quickly moved the ultralights into the hangar where Tracy One had been stored for them. While Virgil and Jeff moved Alan into the jet and got him comfortable, the rest of them worked on collapsing the wings of the ultralights and getting them into Tracy One. After all five of the small crafts had been loaded into Tracy One, everyone that was not already on board boarded and Scott pulled up the stairs and secured the hatch.

The eldest Tracy turned away from the hatched and scanned the cabin. Virgil and Jeff knelt beside where a drowsy Alan lied on the cot attached to the wall. Fermat and Tin-Tin sat together not far from the cot, Lady Penelope standing beside their seats talking to the two teens. A few rows behind them, sitting by himself, Scott spotted the aquanaut staring out the window of Tracy One. While most of the bags that had formed under everyone's eyes had begun to fade, Gordon's had not.

"I see you've spotted him too."

Scott tore his eyes away from Gordon to see Virgil standing beside him. The family medic was watched the redhead with a slight frown tugging at his brow. 

"He looks even worse than before," Scott commented softly as the two stood watching Gordon.

"He took her death harder than any of us," Virgil replied, glancing past his elder brother and to the cockpit of the plane, inside which he knew Evelyn sat. "I think the connection between them goes deeper than we ever thought; than they ever thought."

Scott saw Virgil glance past him out of the corner of his eye and followed his gaze to the cockpit. 

"I'm gonna go take her place," he whispered, clapping Virgil on the shoulder for a movement. "Maybe it will help if she sits with him."

Virgil nodded, watching as Scott walked into the cockpit of the jet before heading back to where his father knelt beside a now asleep Alan.

* * *

"Everything looks good," John informed Evelyn as they finished the pre-flight check for Tracy One.

Evelyn glanced over at him and smiled. 

"Okay, I'll call the tower then and inform them we are ready for takeoff," she replied, grabbing the headset and pulling it onto her head. As she worked to adjust to the headset so it would fit more comfortably, Scott entered the cockpit and stopped beside her, setting a hand on her shoulder.

She stopped fiddling with the headset and looked up at her eldest brother. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw John watching them. 

"Hey, Scott. What's up?" she asked.

"You go ahead and set back in the cabin, Evie. I'll co-pilot with John," he replied, squeezing her shoulder. He saw began to open her mouth to argue and knew immediately what she was about to say. "And no, it doesn't have to do with what happened to you in Amarna. It's Gordon."

A frown formed her face and she quickly began to remove the headset. 

"I know he probably won't say anything till we get home," she said, standing from the seat and handing the headset to Scott. "But at least he'll know I'm here and not…"

Scott nodded as she trailed off and took the headset from her. "I know."

She smiled at Scott and John. "I'll see you guys when we get home."

Scott stayed standing until she left the cockpit before heaving a sigh and dropping into the seat. He looked over at John, who gave him a sad smile. 

"He'll snap out of it sooner or later," he said softly. "And when he has, he'll be back to wreaking havoc."

Evelyn quickly walked through the cabin, giving her father an small smile as she passed where he and Virgil sat beside Alan as she moved back to where Gordon sat a little ways from the group. She stopped and leaned against the empty seat beside him. "Is this seat taken?"

Gordon, who had been staring out the window of the jet jumped in his seat when Evelyn spoke. He simply stared at her for a few moments before shaking his head. Evelyn pursed her lips and sat down in the seat beside him. She took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly while trying to silently tell him that she was alright, something that she had done many times before.

Gordon swallowed loudly and looked back towards the window. The message had been unable to get through to him.

* * *

It was early morning when Tracy One landed on the island, the sun having risen only moments before the landing gear had touched the ground. After waking those that had fallen asleep, everyone quickly made their way off the jet and were greeted in the hanger by those that had remained on the Island. Virgil and Jeff said quick hellos to those that had stayed on the Island before helping Alan to the infirmary, Gordon not far behind them. Virgil instructed the rest of the family to get cleaned up and get something to eat before coming down to the infirmary.

As soon as they entered the room, Virgil sat about getting the things he needed as Jeff helped Alan get comfortable on one of the beds and Gordon sat down on the other, staring down at the floor. After Virgil had gotten Alan on an IV and started him on antibiotics, he quickly checked his father's back.

"Nothing's bruised or broken, but you're probably going to be sore for awhile," he stated, gesturing for his father to put his shirt back on. As Jeff pulled on the shirt that had been given to him after they had left Amarna, he glanced over at Gordon on the opposite bed. The red-head had not moved an inch since he had sat down on the bed. Jeff pushed himself off the bed and walked over to stand before him.

"Gordon?" he called softly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Gordon started when the hand landed on his shoulder and he looked up to see his father looking at him intently, his blue-gray eyes full of concern. Jeff squeezed his shoulder gently. "What's wrong?"

Gordon looked back down at the floor. 

"Nothing," he replied softly, his voice sounding harsh from the little it had been used in the past few days. Virgil, who had been checking on Alan, who was now sleeping, walked over to stand beside his father.

"Dad, why don't you go get cleaned up and get something to eat," he suggested, giving his father a look that told him he would try to get Gordon to open up. Jeff swallowed loudly before reluctantly nodding. He removed his hand from Gordon's shoulder and instead placed it on Virgil's.

"I'll be back in a little bit," he stated softly, before removing his hand from his shoulder and leaving the infirmary. Virgil watched as the doors closed behind him before turning back to Gordon.

"Gordon," he began softly. "I know that this has to do with Evie's death." 

He watched as Gordon flinched but the red-head continued to stare down at the floor. Virgil sighed deeply before sitting down on the mattress beside him. He put an arm around his younger brother's shoulders and looked over at him. "You know she's fine Gordy."

Gordon shook his head. "No, she's not."

A slight frown formed on Virgil's features. "Gordy, she's fine. A little dirty but she-"

"No, she's not!" Gordon exclaimed, finally looking up from the floor, his emerald eyes locking with the honey burnt ones of his elder brother. "She may look like Evie, and sound like Evie, but it's not her! At least not completely! It was bad enough when she died and I could no longer feel her, but now she's back and I don't know her!"

Gordon's words echoed loudly through the infirmary and Virgil was surprised that Alan was still asleep once Gordon had stopped yelling. The red-head sat breathing heavily for a moment, his eyes shining with unshed tears before he was pulled into the arms of his elder brother. 

With his older brothers arms wrapped tightly around him, the unshed tears began to fall and the sound of his sobs echoed throughout the room. Virgil tightened his arms around him and felt Gordon do the same, taking clumps of Virgil's shirt into his first. Virgil closed his eyes, holding back his own tears at the sound of his younger brother's heart-wrenching sobs.

It was a while before Gordon's sobs began to fade and he ran out of tears. He simply sat slumped against Virgil, sniffling every few minutes. Virgil's arms had loosened a bit though he continued to hold his younger brother tightly while Gordon's seemed to have tightened around him. 

"Gordon?" he asked softly.

He felt his brother loosen his arms and release his hold on Virgil's shirt. Virgil removed his arms from around him as Gordon sat back, using the back of his hand to wipe his eyes. 

"She told us the night she explained what happened that it would take a while for all of us to adjust to the fact that she is essentially two people," Virgil reminded him softly. "But the only way you two are going to work things out is if you talk to her."

Gordon nodded slowly before looking up at Virgil. 

"I know," he replied softly.

Virgil smiled at him softly before pushing himself off the bed. 

"Now let's take a look at your ribs," he said, gesturing for Gordon to remove his shirt.

Gordon removed his shirt, wincing as he lifted his arms before Virgil quickly figured out that no ribs had been broken, just bruised. 

About fifteen minutes later, Gordon walked out of the infirmary with his ribs wrapped. As Virgil set about returning everything he had used to where it belonged, he glanced over at Alan's bed to see the blond watching him, his blue eyes showing no signs of him having just woken up.

Virgil set down what he was holding on the counter and walked over to stand beside Alan. He pursed his lips. 

"How much of that were you awake for?" he asked softly, running a hand through his younger brothers soft blond hair.

"Almost all of it," he responded quietly. "His yelling woke me up."

Virgil nodded but said nothing. The two brothers were silent for a moment before Virgil spoke. 

"They'll be okay, sprout," he stated, looking down at his younger brother. Alan nodded slowly before closing his eyes and trying to fall back to sleep.


	34. Fixing Broken Bonds

**Chapter Thirty-Three - Fixing Broken Bonds**

Evelyn sighed as she removed the towel from her head and shook her damp hair. 

O _h, it feels so good to be clean!_ she thought as she pulled on her old and faded cheer shirt that hung over the waistband of her khaki shorts by at least an inch. She looked down at the three necklaces she had worn during the trip sitting on the counter. 

She grabbed the locket and the pendant of Horus and placed them into the jewelry box on the counter. She then grabbed the chain with the dolphin and goose pendants on it and lifted it to eye level.

The day Gordon had given them to her felt as though it had happened ages ago. She pushed her hair aside with on hand and with the other put the necklace around her neck. Once the clasp was secure, she lowered her hand and stared at her reflection in the mirror, looking at where the dolphin and goose pendants rested against the skin just below her collarbone.

The bond between them was broken, and she knew it. She knew that it had something to do with her death, but that was all. And not knowing what was wrong told her something was wrong. She had always been able to figure her twin out, and he could always figure her out without them even having to speak. Running a hand through her hair, she hung the towel up on the hook beside the shower before grabbing her filthy and blood stained clothes off the floor.

Her bare feet made little noise against the tile floor of her bathroom as she headed to the partially closed door. She pulled it open and stepped into her bedroom, heading towards the trash can beside her desk. No way was she keeping the clothes she had died in. 

She hadn't made it to her desk when she realized that she was not the only person in the room. She stopped when she spotted Gordon sitting crossed legged on her bed, leaning back against the wall as he pet Nefertiti where she lay on Evelyn's pillow.

She balled up the clothes in her hands as he looked up at her. 

"Hey," she greeted softly.

He sat up from the wall and removed his hand from Nefertiti's head. 

"Evie," he began. "We need to talk."

Evelyn nodded. 

"I know we do," she replied as she walked over and dumped the clothes in the trash can. 

After pushing them down, she turned around and walked over to her bed, sitting down beside Gordon and pulling her legs up beneath her. They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, neither one of them knowing where to start or what to say.

Gordon broke the silence with a frustrated groan, running a hand through his still filthy hair as he once more leaned back against the wall."We've never had an awkward silence before! It should never be this awkward with you!"

"I know," she responded softly, staring down at her hands in her lap.

Gordon looked at her incredulously. 

"'I know,'" he repeated. "All you can say is 'I know?'" 

He pushed himself up off the bed with a scoff and stood looking at his sister.

Her eyebrows furrowed slightly as she frowned at him. "What in the world do you expect me to say? I know something is wrong between us so I'm not going to say that everything is fine when it –"

"Would you listen to yourself?!" he yelled, cutting her off. Evelyn looked slightly startled but said nothing, simply watching her angry and frustrated twin. "You may look and sound like my sister, but you are not her! What you just said proves that! My sister has never sounded that proper in her life! And she wouldn't just be sitting there right now like you are! She'd be standing up and saying that she was fine when she obviously wasn't! You are some stranger that looks like her!"

Gordon stood in the middle of her room, panting as he watched his sister's reaction to what he had just yelled. Evelyn sat on her bed, staring blankly down at the palms of her hands. After a moment, she pursued her lips and looked up at him. 

"You're right," she admitted quietly before looking back down at her hands.

"I am different. How could I not be different after finding out that I am essentially two people?" she said with a shrug. She looked up from her hands. "With two different personalities. Two different ways of life and standards and morals. Two completely different families that are nothing alike whatsoever. I have to adjust to this too, you know."

Gordon looked down at the carpet beneath his feet. He had forgotten about that. They only had to adjust to her being two people, but she had to adjust to the fact that she had lived before, thousands of years prior. Everything had been different in that time and she had to adjust to that.

He heard the mattress shift and looked up to see Evelyn standing before him. She reached forward and took his hand in hers and gave it a slight squeeze. 

"I know that the bonds between us are broken right now," she began softly. "But they can be fixed. It will take a while, just as adjusting will take a while. No, things will never be as they were before, but what I am trying to say is that they can and will be fixed over time. We just have to be patient and work at it."

He looked down for a moment at their intertwined hands before nodding slowly. He gave her hand a squeeze, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 

"I'm willing to work for it," he said quietly. Evelyn returned the squeeze as a smile appeared on her face.

"Now," he began, the smile turning into a grin. "How about we get something to eat and then watch a movie?"

Evelyn grinned and nodded. 

"You're favorite or mine?" she asked.

He bit his lip as he thought for a moment. 

"How about both," he suggested.

Evelyn smiled. "Sounds good to me."

* * *

John sat at the table beside Scott, both of them eating one of the sandwiches off of the platter that Onaha had prepared. The women herself had disappeared just after they had sat down, heading off to her family's villa with her arm around her daughter's shoulders. 

Brains and Fermat had followed suit a few minutes later. The two brothers themselves had showered and changed before coming down to eat, which was obvious y their damp hair.

Their father had come and gone, having eaten quickly so he could get back to the infirmary. Gordon and Evelyn had yet to come get something to eat. John grabbed his glass of water just as Virgil stepped into the room.

"Dad send you to get something to eat?" Scott asked as Virgil pulled out the chair beside him and sat down.

Vigil nodded as he grabbed a sandwich off the platter. 

"Yeah," he replied.

John swallowed the mouthful of water and set down the class. "How's Alan?"

"He had just fallen asleep before dad came in," he replied, pouring himself a glass of water from the pitcher sitting on the table beside the platter. "Now that he's hooked up to the antibiotics and the bite is clean, he should be fine in a week or so."

Scott sighed and ran a hand through his hair damp hair. 

"Thank God," he muttered, looking down at his plate. He looked up at Virgil a few moments later. "How about Gordon?"

"His ribs will be okay, just a bit of bruising," he responded. Scott raised an eyebrow at the medic, who sighed in response. "Yeah, I know what you were asking about. I talked to him about it and -"

He stopped talking when he spotted two figures entering the room, talking quietly as they walked with their hands intertwined between them. The twins looked up at them as they walked to the table and smiled at their elder siblings in unison. They released each other's hands as they reached the table.

"Hey guys," Evelyn greeted as she pulled out the chair next to John and dropped down into it, Gordon doing the same on her other side. Scott and John both looked towards Virgil with raised eyebrows as the twin's grabbed sandwiches. Virgil shrugged in response.

"Umm," Gordon swallowed a mouthful of sandwich. "Did we miss something?"

John shook his head. 

"No," he responded. "But are you two okay?"

Gordon glanced over at Evelyn beside him, who stopped chewing for a moment to smile at him. 

"No, we're not," he replied. He turned his gaze back towards their older brothers. "But with some time and work, we will be."

Evelyn's smile widened before she looked towards Virgil. "Can you pass the water, please?"


	35. Different Ways of Dealing

**Chapter Thirty-Four - Different Ways of Dealing  
** **September 16th, 2024**

"Good morning...how is…"

The familiar female voiced echoed around Alan's head as his awareness of his surroundings increased. He knew he was still in the infirmary and remembered falling asleep with Virgil beside him, having just cleaned the snake bite. How long had it been since he had fallen asleep?

"He's doing…would you mind...cup of coffee…"

As his awareness continued to increase, Alan heard Tin-Tin reply to his father before he heard the door the door to the infirmary swish shut behind him. The room was silent for a few moments as he continued to grow more aware of his surroundings. Soft footfalls sounded as Tin-Tin's small feet met the tiled floor, growing closer as she moved towards where he lay.

As the footsteps came to a stop beside him, he forced his eyes open, wincing at the bright lights of the infirmary. As his eyes began to focus, Tin-Tin's face came into view. She gave him a small smile as the rest of the infirmary came into focus.

The corners of his mouth turned upwards. 

"Hey," he greeted.

"Hey Alan," she responded. She glanced towards the door of the infirmary. "You just missed your dad. He went to get more coffee."

"Has he even left at all, besides for more coffee?" he asked as he maneuvered himself into a sitting position. Tin-Tin shifted the pillows for him before sitting down by his legs, being careful not to bump the snake bite. Alan leaned back against the pillows as Tin-Tin shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Though he was forced out at some point to change and eat yesterday by Virgil."

"At least he ate something," he stated softly, watching Tin-Tin for a moment before looking down at his hands. He bit his lip for a moment before looking back up at her. "Thanks, Tin."

The small smile disappeared from her features as she looked at him in confusion. "For what?

"Virge told me what you did in Amarna to protect us," he replied. The frown disappeared as the smile did before it, understanding shown on her face, along with something Alan couldn't quite identify. She swallowed, looking down at her hands in her lap.

"Tin-Tin?" he asked softly. She continued to look down at her hands. "Tin?"

"I killed someone Alan," she mumbled, continuing to stare down at her hands. "I used my powers to kill someone."

He pushed himself off the pillows and leaned forward. 

"It was either kill or be killed," he said softly. "You were protecting yourself and us."

She looked up at him, her eyes shining with tears. 

"I could have just knocked them out instead of killing them," she paused, the lump in her throat preventing her from speaking. She shook her head and looked back down at her hands. "I'm just as bad as my uncle."

Alan reached forward and grabbed her hands from her lap, holding them tightly within his. Tin-Tin looked up at him, meeting his eyes. 

"You are nothing like him," he stated firmly. "He enjoys using his powers to cause others pain. You only use them when necessary and feel guilty when you do. That just shows how different you are from him."

She shook her head slightly. "But-"

"No," he stated, moving one of his hands from where he held hers in his lap and grabbing her chin, forcing her to look at him. "You are nothing like him, Tin. Nothing. And you never will be. You understand? You will never be like him."

She nodded slightly, his hand still gripping her chin. It was then that he realized just how close their faces were, how soft and warm her skin was beneath his fingers, and how good she smelled. Without even realizing what he was doing, he had moved his face closer to hers, or had she moved too? He paused for a moment, feeling her breath hot on his face he pressed his lips to hers.

* * *

Jeff sighed as the infirmary doors closed behind him, running a hand over his face. He had yet to get any sleep since they had arrived back at the island, only leaving the infirmary when Virgil had made him eat and to go get more coffee during the night. Sure he had dozed in the chair beside Alan's bed, but that was extremely uncomfortable. Virgil would probably ask him about it when he woke and reprimand him for not resting, but he just couldn't bring himself to leave Alan's side for more than a few minutes at a time.

But he would deal with Virgil's worrying when the young man woke up, but right now he needed coffee. As he walked down the hallway, approaching the movie room, the sounds of a movie reached his ears. He reached the doorway to the room and looked inside. The sight before him caused a fond smile to form on his features.

The movie looked to have been over long before he entered the room, the disc menu of Finding Nemo repeating. The twins sat on the couch side by side. Evelyn's head rested on her brother's shoulder while his cheek rest against the top of her head. Their intertwined hands rested in Gordon's lap while an empty bowl of popcorn sat in Evelyn's. Things between the two of them were beginning to mend. He watched with a smile as Evelyn shifted, the empty bowl falling to the floor.

Jeff then moved into the room, being as quiet as he could. He first walked over to the television and turned it off before walking over to the fallen bowl. He squatted down and picked the bowl up off the floor, finding a few leftover popcorn kernels now on the carpet, but that could be cleaned up later. He stood back up, bowls in hand, and smiled at the twins for a moment. He then quietly left the room with the bowl, heading to the kitchen to drop it off and get his coffee.

* * *

John sighed as he dropped himself onto the piece of driftwood that had washed up onto the beach. He had tried to sleep after eating but had woken not long after due to horrible nightmares. He had once more held his sister as she died, but this time there had been no spell to bring her back. He ran a hand over his face and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. He knew that was not how things had happened. That he had read the spell and Evelyn was now up in the house watching movies with Gordon. But he still couldn't get the horrible image of her bloody and lifeless body out of his head.

He heard a branch snap behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Scott emerging from the trees. He turned back towards the beach, watching the wave's crash against the white sand as Scott walked over and sat down beside him. The elder of the two was silent for a few moments, following John's lead and watching the waves.

"Nightmares?" he asked, watching the blond out of the corner of his eye. John nodded. Scott looked out at the turquoise blue water before them. "Was it about Evie?"

John tore his eyes away from the waves to look at Scott beside him with a raised eyebrow. Scott saw the eyebrow out of the corner of his eye. 

"I did too," he admitted softly. "Saw her being stabbed and Alan being bitten. And there was absolutely nothing I could do."

"Yeah," John began. "But you didn't hold her as she died. Had her blood on her hands and saw the life fade from her, again." 

He broke off, turning his head back towards the beach.

Scott turned his head towards his brother. "But you were also the one to bring her back."

John nodded, looking down at the sand beneath his sandals. 

"I know," he responded. "But I will never get that image of her out of my head."

Scott scooted closer to John and wrapped an arm around his younger brother's shoulders. Nothing more was said as the two watched the wave's crash onto the shore.

* * *

Jeff smiled as he took another sip of coffee. Ah the wonders of caffeine. He had deposited to popcorn bowl in the kitchen and then gotten a cup of coffee. Thankfully Onaha had not been there. If she had been, he probably wouldn't have the steaming cup of coffee in his hands.

The doors of the infirmary slid open before him only for him to catch site of Alan and Tin-Tin sitting close together on the bed. Jeff's jaw dropped. The two jumped apart when the door had slid open and now stared down at their laps, their cheeks tinged pink in embarrassment. They avoided each other's eyes and Jeff's as he looked between them. He opened his mouth to say something only for nothing to come out. Had he just walked in on them kissing?

He took a sip of his coffee as he turned around and walked out of the infirmary. As the door slid closed behind him, Jeff leaned back against the wall just next to the door. He closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had just walked in on Alan and Tin-Tin kissing. Sure Penny had told him numerous times that there was something between them, but he had never believed it. And now it seemed that she had been right all along.

_And she's not going to let me forget it,_ he thought as he took a large swallow of coffee.

* * *

The infirmary was silent for a few moments after Jeff had left speechless at the position he had found them in. Alan and Tin-Tin had yet to look at each other and were still blushing furiously. Alan leaned back against the pillows, biting his and glancing up at Tin-Tin. She caught him looking blushed once more, giving him a shy smile.

"I can't believe that just happened," she whispered, glancing towards the door.

Alan shook his head and chuckled. 

"Neither can I. I don't think I've ever seen him speechless before," he added.

Tin-Tin laughed. 

"I don't think I have either," she glanced towards the door for a moment before looking back towards Alan with a small smile. "I better go. I'll see you later, Alan." 

She leaned forward and pressed a quick kiss to his lips before pushing herself off the bed.

Alan smiled, watching as she walked over to the door and left the infirmary. Before the door closed behind her, his father stepped back into the room, his coffee cup now empty. He walked over and set the cup down on the bedside table before sitting down where Tin-Tin had been moments before.

They sat in awkward silence for a few moments, Alan looking anything but his father. Jeff cleared his throat. 

"So," he began. "You and Tin-Tin?"


	36. Epilogue-Into the Rush

**Epilogue-Into the Rush**

Into your head, into your mind  
out of your soul, race through your veins  
You can't escape, you can't escape.

Into your life, into your dreams,  
Out of the dark, so light again.  
You can't explain, you can't explain.

Can You feel it, can you feel it,  
Rushin' through your hair,  
Rushin' through your head,  
Can you feel it, can you feel it,

Don't let nobody tell you, your life is over,  
Be every color that you are,  
Into the rush now,  
You don't have to know how,  
Know it all before you'll try.  
  
 **Rush by Aly & A.J.**

* * *

**November 24th, 2024**

"Smells great, Onaha."

"Thank you, Alan," the Malaysian women replied as Alan passed through the kitchen was full of the scents of the women's great cooking as she prepared the food for Thanksgiving dinner. Alan resisted the temptation to try and taste something and made his way up the staircase to the hall containing the bedrooms. It had been two months since the events of Egypt and his ankle had healed up nicely, only a pale little scar serving as a reminder to the snakebite.

He made his way down the hall and stopped by his sister's bedroom door. Though she occasionally started ranting in Egyptian, she and the rest of the family had completely adjusted to the changes that had come about after her death and resurrection. She had kept in correspondence with Kaphiri and was planning on joining him at Amarna the next spring, seeing as the Medjai was still a noted Egyptologist. It had taken a lot of convincing for her to be able to go, telling her father and brothers that Egypt was in her blood and she couldn't just ignore that.

He knocked on her closed door. 

"Come in!" she called in reply. Alan turned the knob and pushed the door open, stepping into the room. She sat at her desk, working on her laptop. Nefertiti laid on the desk next to the computer. She looked up as he entered the room and grinned at him. "Hey, Al."

"Hey Evie," he replied, making his was over to her to see what she was working on. It was just after her finally convincing the family to let her return to Egypt that Kaphiri began sending her pictures to translate and maps of the city for her to look at, knowing that she could help uncover previously unknown locations. However, that was not what was currently on the computer screen. He read the fancy script on the screen before a huge grin exploded onto his face.

"Is that what I think it is?" he asked, gesturing to the image on the screen that was currently in the process of being printed.

Evelyn looked over her shoulder at him and nodded, a large grin of her own on her face. 

"Yep. He finally proposed," she replied, pulling the paper of the printer next to her computer. "The date is set for January 14th."

"Good for them," he commented, using his arm to prop him up as he leaned against her desk.

Evelyn then closed her laptop and turned her chair to face him. "What's up?"

"Three is about to come in and Lady P will land in about twenty minutes," he replied. She grinned and stood from her chair, rubbing Nefertiti's head as Alan pushed himself away from her desk and started heading for the door. She quickly followed him out the door, doubling back to grab the paper before hurrying out into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

The two quickly walked down the hall, heading for their father's office. They entered to room to see their father manning Command and Control as Thunderbird Three prepared to land. Scott stood beside him, watching the monitors over his father's shoulder. They both looked up as Alan and Evelyn entered the room.

"Hey," Evelyn greeted with a grin as she and Alan walked over to stand behind their father. 

"Take a look at this," she said, handing the printed invitation to Jeff and Scott leaned over his shoulder to read it. Evelyn glanced over at Alan, who grinned at her as they waited for the two elder Tracy's to finish reading the invitation.

Scott started laughed after a moment. 

"So he finally asked her," he stated, looking up at his younger siblings. "About time."

Evelyn nodded as Alan laughed beside her. "Yep."

"Good for them," Jeff commented, a small smile on his face as he handed the invitation back to Evelyn before turning back to the monitor. He watched as the read-outs on the screen changed as Thunderbird Three was secured once more in its silo beneath the library. Jeff pushed a few keys and the screen changed to show Gordon sitting in Thunderbird Three.

"Hey guys," he greeted. "Virge and I got space case with us n-OW! Hey!" 

Gordon began to rub the back of his head where John had smacked him.

Jeff chuckled and shook his head as Virgil and John came into view behind Gordon. "Just run the post-flight checks and get up here. They land in about fifteen minutes."

"F.A.B, dad," he replied before the screen changed back to show the current read-outs of the red rocket.

* * *

Five minutes after Thunderbird Three had landed found the three Tracy's stepping out of the lifts and into Command and Control. While Evelyn went over and hugged her twin, Alan walked over and hugged John. As John released his hold on the younger blond, he glanced over at the twins to see them grinning at him. He raised an eyebrow. _What are those two up too?_

"Hey John," Jeff greeted, pulling his second eldest into a tight hug. He then pulled back and gripped the blond's forearms. "Good to have you home, John."

"Good to be home," he replied. "Anyone been banned from the kitchen yet?"

Jeff laughed and released his arms. "Surprisingly no." 

He then glanced over at the twins before looking over at where Virgil stood talking to Scott. "You boys go get changed. They should be landing in about ten minutes."

With a chorus of 'F.A.B's, John, Virgil, and Gordon walked out of Command and Control as it once more began to change onto their father's office. Evelyn walked beside her twin, the two of them talking quietly. Virgil sped up to walk beside John and glanced back at the two. "They're up to something."

John glanced back up them. They spotted him looking at him and immediately slapped innocent grins on their faces. John sighed and looked over at Virgil beside him. 

"I think this Thanksgiving just got a bit more interesting," he said, stopping at his bedroom door.

"You got that right," Virgil replied as he stopped before his own bedroom door and glanced back at the twins standing before Gordon's bedroom door. Virgil groaned before pushing open is bedroom door and stepping into the room.

John stood in his doorway watching the twins for a little longer. Evelyn nodded in reply to something Gordon said before he grinned and disappeared into his room. As the door closed behind him, Evelyn turned around and caught site of John. She smiled and walked over to him, pulling her older brother into a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around his sister and looked down at her. "Whatever you two are up to, please tell me I'm exempt."

She removed her arms from around him before stepping back and smirking at him. 

"Maybe," she responded, moving back towards her own bedroom door. "Maybe not. You'll just have to wait and see."

* * *

Not long after John, Virgil, and Gordon had changed, the entire Tracy family off to the side of the runway as they watched FAB 1 land. The shining pink car finally came to a few yards before them, it's bright pink paint gleaming in the late afternoon sun. Not long after the engine died down, the driver's door opened and Parker stepped out of the car.

"Hey, Parker," Jeff greeted as he stepped onto the runway and walked towards the car the rest of his family not far behind him.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Tracy," he replied as he moved down the length of the car to open the passenger door. Once the door was open, Lady Penelope stepped out of the car and smiled at the Tracys. Jeff stepped forward and gave the good family friend a quick hug as Parker pulled a wheelchair out of FAB 1.

"Good to see you, Penny," he greeted as he released the blond. "And thank you for bringing him."

Penelope laughed softly. 

"It was no problem at all," she responded. "Besides, I am always looking for an excuse to visit paradise."

Once the wheelchair was set up beside the car, Evelyn and John hurried forward, passing their father and Lady Penelope to help their grandfather out of the car. Once he was comfortably in the chair, Alex grinned at the two Tracy's before him. 

"John, Evelyn," he said with a grin. "Good to see you again."

John smiled as Alex wheeled the chair away from FAB 1. "Good to see you too, Alex."

Alex then looked towards Jeff and extended his hand towards the Tracy patriarch. 

"Jeff," he greeted as Jeff took the extended hand. "Long time no see."

"Alex," Jeff nodded slightly, a sad smile on his lips. "It has been a while."

Alex released his hand and turned his chair slightly to face the rest of the Tracy family where they stood a few feet away. 

"Now," he clapped his hands together and grinned. "Let's see if I can recognize you kids."

He pressed the tips of his fingers together as his pale blue eyes scanned over the faces that had yet to greet him. Jeff, Penelope, Parker, John, and Evelyn stood just behind him, grinning at the hundred-year-old's energy and enthusiasm. Alex scanned them for a few more seconds before his eyes settled on where Alan stood between Gordon and Scott. 

"You have to be Alan," he stated. "Even after not seeing you for fourteen years, I can still recognize those blue eyes and that sweet little grin of yours anywhere."

Alan's cheeks turned slightly pink and he looked down. Gordon laughed beside him and Scott wrapped an arm around his shoulders. Alex then pointed at Gordon. 

"And I'll recognize that cheeky grin anywhere. Gordon, the little prankster," he commented as Gordon grinned proudly. "A kid after my own heart."

He then shifted his gaze to where Scott had his arm around Alan's shoulder, Virgil standing beside him. 

"And then we've got mini Mozart and flyboy," he said, pointed at the two of them before pressing the tips of his fingers together once more. 

"You two are the ones that look most like your father, though you," he pointed at Virgil. "You have Ruth's eyes."

"You remember what color eyes my mother had?" Jeff asked him, surprised that the man had remembered that fourteen years after the women's death, and having only seen her face-to-face several times before that.

Alex glanced over her shoulder at him. "Boy, I may be a hundred, but my memory ain't that bad."

Scott, Virgil, and John tried to keep straight faces at their father's expression, while Gordon, Evelyn, and Alan laughed loudly, not even trying to stifle it. Lady Penelope lifted a hand to her mouth to cover a cough, though the corners of her mouth were turned upwards.

Alex grinned at his laughing grandchildren, glancing at them for a moment before looking at Jeff. 

"Now, enough chit-chat. I don't know about all of you, but I am getting hungry," he told them, putting his hands down on the sides of his chair, ready to roll himself in the direction he was directed. "And I am most eager to meet the other occupants of the island, especially a certain young lady that has snagged little Alan."

Alan blushed once more and looked over at Evelyn as the group began to make their way down the runway and into the hangar. "You told him?"

Evelyn nodded eagerly and grinned brightly at her younger brother. "Yup."

* * *

Several hours after dinner found Alex sitting in the movie room, watching Alan, Tin-Tin, and Fermat play video games. The hundred-year-old was just as into the game as the teens, cheering on his grandson as he fought to get his car in front of Fermat's. Alex looked away from the screen when he sensed movement in the doorway and saw Jeff leaning against the door frame, smiling fondly at the teens.

He looked towards Alex and nodded in greeting. Alex returned the grin with a smile before looking back towards the screen, watching as Alan's car finally got in front of Fermat's, only to get cut off by Tin-Tin.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, looking over at his girlfriend beside him.

Tin-Tin grinned at him. 

"All's fair and love and war Alan," she replied before leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. Alan's cheeks turned slightly pink, the corners of his mouth turning upwards.

"Winner! Winner!"

Both of them turned towards the screen to the sound of Jeff and Alex's laughter. On the screen, it showed that the race had ended, Fermat having passed them both up while they were distracted with each other. Alan and Tin-Tin both looked over at Fermat where he sat on the other side of Tin-Tin. He pushed his glasses further up his nose and grinned sheepishly at them.

"GORDON COOPER TRACY! EVELYN NICOLE TRACY!"

All those in the room looked towards the doorway at the sound of Scott's furious yell, Jeff's head peeking out into the hallway, an eyebrow raised. The door just behind him opened and Virgil poked his head out of the music room. He spotted his father was walked over to where he stood in the doorway. "What did they do?"

"Don't know yet," Jeff responded. They watched as Scott ran down the stairs, heading for the ground floor not even noticing his father watching him. A few seconds later John came walking down the stairs, fighting to keep a straight face. Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin forgot about their came and walked over to the doorway, Alex in his chair just ahead of them.

"John!" Jeff called. His second eldest spotted his father and Virgil standing in the doorway to the movie room, Alex, Alan, Fermat, and Tin-Tin in the doorway behind them. "What did they do?"

"Pink," he stated as he stopped a few feet from them. "Scott went into his room and found everything pink."

"Everything?" Alan asked, holding back his laughter.

John nodded. 

"Everything. The furniture, the walls, his clothes, anything that was out in the open. Though looks like it's only a powder coating," he replied. He then shook his head, chuckling. "I knew those two were up to something."

"Though that explains the looks they were exchanging during dinner," Alex commented, laughed at what his grandchildren had done. "This has defiantly been the most eventful Thanksgiving since I was a kid."

* * *

Gordon and Evelyn had been sitting, dangling their feet in the pool as they watched the sunset when they heard Scott's yell. The glanced towards each other and grinned as they pulled their feet out of the water.

"I think he found it," Evelyn commented as she and Gordon began to pull on sandals.

Gordon laughed. 

"I'm pretty sure he has," he replied. Once his sandals were on his feet, he stood up and looked towards his twin. "And he's probably on his way down here so we should get going."

Evelyn stood and they both began to jog towards the main path to the beach. "Take the main and then come back up one of the smaller ones?"

"Yep," Gordon replied as they began to run down the path, neither one of them glancing back to see if their eldest brother had emerged from the house yet.

"Hey, Gordon?" Evelyn glanced over at her twin after a few minutes of running.

He looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Happy Birthday," she grinned.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so that is the end of Into the Rush. I hope you all enjoyed it. I know I enjoyed writing it. A huge thank you to all those how reviewed! love you guys! And I do have other Thunderbirds stories planned, but it will probably be a while. I have a few new ones in the works and I have to work on the stories that had been put on hold due to no muse for them while writing this. But you guys will defiantly see me again! See ya later!
> 
> ~Lee~


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